Ex-La Salle and 76er’s star admits to disorderly conduct

NORRISTOWN » Former La Salle University and 76er basketball star Douglas Overton Jr. faces court supervision in connection with an incident on a Lower Merion trail during which witnesses alleged he engaged in offensive behavior.

Overton, 47, of Philadelphia, was sentenced Wednesday in Montgomery County Court to one year of probation after he pleaded guilty to three misde-

meanor counts of disorderly conduct in connection with an April 30 incident on the Cynwyd Heritage Trail.

Senior Judge Joseph A. Smyth also ordered that Overton, who played and coached for the Sixers and is the head men’s basketball coach at Lincoln University, undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation and complete any treatment recommendations. The judge also ordered Overton to have no contact with the three witnesses who allegedly observed his conduct.

Overton, wearing a dark suit, left the courthouse with his lawyer Brett Datto, of Weir and Partners, without commenting further about the guilty plea.

“He admitted on the record that his behavior was offensive and obscene, it was obscene behavior and that other people that were there in the park that day enjoying a public area with their families, that they observed that and it was offensive and obscene to them,”

said county Assistant District Attorney Brianna Ringwood, explaining the nature of Overton’s guilty plea. “He admitted to engaging in behavior that was obscene and offensive.”

More serious charges of indecent exposure were dismissed against Overton as part of the plea agreement.

“The terms of this agreement reflect the fact that he was cooperative with police from the very beginning of this investigation and that he contacted our office, through counsel, very, very early on in the process in an effort to come to a nontrial resolution in this case in the swiftest way possible,” Ringwood explained, adding the witnesses were agreeable to the outcome of the case. “In addition, the terms reflect his willingness to be evaluated and treated if necessary.”

The specific nature of Overton’s conduct was not described in court. But prosecutors explained, generally, that Overton’s conduct caused public alarm and created “a physically offensive condition.”

But in an affidavit of probable cause, Lower Doug Overton Merion police alleged officers received several calls shortly after noon April 30 that a man was exposing himself on the Cynwyd Heritage Trail at a section located just off Levering Mill Road in the Bala Cynwyd section of Lower Merion.

Callers told police the man appeared to be touching himself around his genitals or urinating off to the side of the trail, according to court documents.

One witness, a female, told police when the man walked past her his penis was outside of his pants and that he was looking in her direction as he walked his dog, according to a criminal complaint filed by Lower Merion Police Officer Michael Rigby. The woman

told police the man was seen walking on the trail with his penis exposed.

A male witness told police the subject was walking toward him with his penis fully out of his pants. The witness described the man as walking “calmly and deliberately” and said he seemed to be aware that he was exposing himself but “was content with the situation,” according to the arrest affidavit.

A second woman told police she exchanged pleasantries with the man on the trail and then noticed “his penis appeared to be hanging out of his pants,” police alleged. The woman said once she observed it she didn’t want to look again so she walked away, court papers indicate.

“All three witnesses told the officer that they were alarmed and offended by viewing the male’s genitals being exposed in such an open and public manner,” Rigby alleged.

Patrol officers were able to locate the subject on the trail. The man was later identified as Overton, police reported. Three separate witnesses positively

identified Overton as the man they saw on the trail exposing himself, police alleged in the criminal complaint.

A day after the allegations came to light, Pittsburgh-based Worden Public Relations, partnering with Weir and Associates, issued a statement on Overton’s behalf. At the time, Datto said that the statement was in Overton’s own words:

“I went to the Cynwyd Trail on Sunday afternoon to walk my dog, which I typically do three or four times a week. As I sometimes do, I stopped to pick up a cup of tea on my way to the trail. Of course, during the walk I felt the need to relieve myself. With the nearest bathroom nearly a mile away, I stepped off the trail and into a wooded area to take care of business in what I thought was a discreet manner. I then pulled up my sweat pants and returned to the trail to continue walking my dog. That is the only thing that happened. Unfortunately, it appears I wasn’t as discreet as I thought, and some misinterpreted what they saw. I sincerely apologize for my

lapse of judgment and the confusion it caused.”

Overton was a standout player for La Salle who played 11 seasons in the NBA for eight teams, including a stint with the Sixers. He played 499 games and scored 2,253 points. He was a second-round pick of the Detroit Pistons in 1991.

After his playing career ended, Overton went into coaching, serving as an assistant at Saint Joseph’s, as well as the NBA’s New Jersey Nets.

In 2016, he was named the head coach at Lincoln in Chester County.

Overton played for several NBA teams including the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets and others.

Overton recently finished his first year as basketball coach at Lincoln University in Oxford.

During Wednesday’s brief hearing, Datto presented the judge with 14 letters from supporters attesting to Overton’s good character.

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