Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore has been sentenced to probation, avoiding jail time, following a confrontation with a woman after his dismissal. Moore pleaded no contest in March to misdemeanor charges of trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device. Moore, 40, was fired on December 10 after two seasons leading the Wolverines.
On the day of his firing, Moore was accused of confronting a woman he was having an affair with, allegedly blaming her for his termination and threatening suicide with butter knives in her apartment. Authorities said the woman had ended the affair and spoken to school officials. Initially facing a felony home invasion charge and two additional counts, Washtenaw County prosecutors agreed to a deal.
He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors, dropping the felony. The agreement followed defense lawyer Ellen Michaels' plan to challenge police methods for an arrest warrant. Moore was arrested peacefully in a parking lot, away from the woman's residence, and did not harm himself.
Despite a maximum penalty of six months in jail, his clean record granted the judge discretion. The specific terms or duration of probation were not disclosed, nor were details on the exact nature of the malicious use of a telecom device charge. It remains unclear what the defense's specific argument was regarding police methods for the arrest warrant or what led to the initial felony home invasion charge being dropped in the plea deal.
The woman's identity or relationship to the university has not been revealed.