Texas WR Joshua Moore receives deferred adjudication for weapons charge

During a court appearance on Thursday in Austin, Texas Longhorns junior wide receiver Joshua Moore pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor weapons charge stemming from an arrest in July 2019, reaching a deferred adjudication agreement that will allow Moore to avoid a conviction for the charge.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Moore must complete 60 hours of community service, any recommended counseling conditions established by the probation department, and avoid any more legal trouble for one year to avoid conviction and seal the arrest. Moore will have to forfeit the gun and pay a small fine.

Here’s why Moore got arrested, according to the affidavit:

Police monitoring downtown Austin on July 5 at the police department’s Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) noticed a man “remove a firearm from his waistband, walk in between two vehicles, appearing to chamber a round by pulling the slide of the gun to the rear, and then place the firearm back into his waistband.”

When the police arrested Moore, they found a Glock 19 — 9mm pistol in his waistband with a 30-round magazine and a live round loaded into the chamber.

On Thursday, the prosecutor said that Moore chambered the round after an altercation.

Following the arrest, Texas head coach Tom Herman released a statement saying that Texas would handle the situation internally while monitoring the legal process and determining any further actions at the completion of that process.

Several weeks ago, Herman clarified Moore’s status with the team.

“Josh was never suspended from the team — he practiced every day,” Herman said. “Josh was suspended from playing in games, so we’ll determine that when we get closer to a game.”

Given the requirements placed on Moore as a result of his deferred adjudication and since he’s already been practicing with the team, Moore may have to continue fulfilling those conditions through preseason camp before Texas officially reinstates him to appear in games.

In the meantime, Moore is practicing as an outside receiver after spending his freshman year in the slot. At 6’1 and 180 pounds with a 41.5-inch vertical and 3.96 shuttle time, Moore is a dynamic athlete capable of playing each of the receiver positions, depending on how well he’s developed with his releases at the line of scrimmage.

During his freshman season, Moore appeared in the first six games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury that required surgery. He recorded seven catches for 53 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown catch against USC in the second half.

Since Moore didn’t play last season, he could use that as a redshirt year, but the school listed him as a sophomore 2019.