EX-MSU star Malik McDowell pleads guilty to fighting with cops, truck theft

Former Michigan State football standout Malik McDowell is expected to learn next month his punishment for drunken driving, fighting with police and driving a stolen vehicle earlier this year.

On Wednesday, McDowell pleaded guilty to charges of assault/resisting arrest, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and receiving and concealing stolen property, according to Oakland Circuit Court records.

A judge scheduled McDowell's sentencing on all three charges for Nov. 13, 2019, records said.

The resisting arrest charge is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and fines. Operating while intoxicated is a 93-day misdemeanor. However, McDowell has a February 2018 drunken driving conviction in Royal Oak and could receive an enhanced combined sentence of fine, jail time and community service. Receiving and concealing stolen property is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The charges stem from an incident in February.

More: Ex-MSU star Malik McDowell charged in scuffle with cops, truck theft

During the incident at a Lathrup Village gas station, McDowell confronted a police officer, refused to hand over his license and grabbed his wrists and put his hand on the officer’s gun.

Police deployed an electric stun gun, but it didn't faze the football player. Other officers helped handcuff McDowell.

More: TMZ releases video of ex-MSU star Malik McDowell in scuffle with police

The receiving and concealing stolen property charge against McDowell stems from an investigation of pickup thefts from a Ford Motor Co. overflow lot in Dearborn. He was arraigned on the charge in April.

The trucks were equipped with GPS devices, one of which led officers with the Oakland County sheriff's auto theft unit to a closed garage at McDowell’s Southfield address.

McDowell told police he did not know the truck was stolen and had purchased it for $3,000 from a man on Linwood in Detroit. He didn’t know the man’s name, according to police.

More: Seahawks sue ex-MSU standout Malik McDowell, claim he's failed to repay signing bonus

A highly sought-after recruit who starred as a defensive lineman for the Spartans, McDowell was drafted in the second round in 2017 by the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. However, never played a down in the league after suffering a head injury in an ATV crash in July 2017.

In July 2018, the Seahawks waived McDowell. The NFL team in May 2019 filed a federal lawsuit against him over a nearly $800,000 signing bonus that an arbitrator ordered him to pay back.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez