Pitt freshman forward John Hugley suspended, facing 3 felony charges

Pitt freshman forward John Hugley is charged with two counts of criminal conspiracy and one count of receiving stolen property — all felonies — and has been suspended indefinitely from the men’s basketball team.

He also faces a summary citation for driving without a license.

The charges date back to an incident in July when someone stole a white Chevy Malibu from a parking spot on Coltart Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Central Oakland neighborhood.

The victim told police she’d parked the car there the night prior before heading to the dorms on Pitt’s campus for the night, according to the criminal complaint. When she returned the next morning, the car was gone.

Police found the car a little over two weeks later near the intersection of Forbes and Coltart avenues, according to the complaint. There was a different license plate on it than when it had been stolen. The plate that was on it had been reported stolen the day after the Malibu was stolen.

The car’s owner told police she’d arrived on campus with three friends between 11:30 p.m. and midnight and proceeded to the dorms. While there, she and others were in a dorm room belonging to Hugley and three others, according to the complaint. She said she left her purse, containing her car keys, in the dorm room’s common area and later fell asleep in the dorm.

Investigators found video footage from the area, according to the criminal complaint, which police said shows a man, identified only as Hugley’s friend, walk to the car shortly after midnight and get in for a short time. He later comes back with Hugley, who gets in the driver’s seat and the two drive away, according to the complaint.

Later footage from Aug. 2, shortly before the car was found, shows Hugley getting out of the stolen car, police said.

A preliminary hearing is set for 10 a.m. Feb. 18.

Hugley (6-foot-9, 240 pounds) is an important presence off the bench and in the paint for the Panthers (6-2, 2-1 ACC). He is averaging 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds while appearing in seven games.

A consensus four-star and top 100 recruit from Cleveland, Ohio, Hugley missed Pitt’s most recent game Jan. 6 at Syracuse for covid-19 protocols. For that reason and the postponement of four other games, Hugley hasn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 22 when he scored seven points with seven rebounds in 24 minutes in a 64-54 loss to Louisville.

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