Top basketball prospect Tony Farmer sentenced to 3 years in jail for kidnapping his girlfriend, collapses in court

Farmer, of Ohio, who stands six-feet-seven-inches tall and weighs 220 pounds, was considered one of the top 100 college recruits in the country.


By Philip Caulfield / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS



 

Tony Farmer, one of the most highly-recruited high school basketball players
 in Ohio, collapsed in court Tuesday after receiving a three-year prison sentence.


A highly-recruited Ohio basketball star collapsed in court after a judge sentenced him to prison for assaulting and kidnapping his girlfriend.

Courtroom news cameras caught the shock on hot college prospect Tony Farmer's face as Cuyahoga County Court Judge Pamela Barker gave him three years for kidnapping in the April incident.

"I got three years?" the stunned 18-year-old asked his lawyer, Joe Dubyak, according to video posted on WJW Cleveland television.

Barker continued with sentencing, slapping the 6-7, 220-pound star with two years for felonious assault and two years for robbery.

Convinced he was headed to prison for seven years, Farmer collapsed in a heap at his lawyer's feet, as anguished supporters cried out and fled the courtroom.

Farmer apparently thought he was being sentenced to seven years in jail
 when he collapsed.

After Farmer stood up, Barker announced the terms would be served concurrently and that Farmer would spend three years in prison.

Farmer, a rising senior at Garfield Heights High School, was indicted in May stemming from a fight with his ex-girlfriend, Andrea Lane, at her apartment building in Bedford Heights, southeast of Cleveland, the Plain Dealer reported.

A court officer tried to rouse the enormous teenager.

Farmer assaulted Lane, dragged her by her hair outside the building and then took her cell phone, bank card, computer and car keys, prosecutors said.

He was also charged with intimidation for sending threatening text messages and voicemails to her, the newspaper reported.

Farmer was an all-state pick in his junior year and considered one of the top 100 recruits in the country.

Several NCAA Division I powers, including Michigan State, Illinois and Xavier, were recruiting him, according to Yahoo! Sports Rivals.com.

The judge said she would review his sentence in 180 days, according to the Plain Dealer.