Ex-Rocket Porter Jr. reaches plea deal on charges

Former Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. reached a plea deal in a New York City court Tuesday in the case involving his former girlfriend and WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick.

Porter, 23, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and a harassment violation in connection with an incident in September at a Manhattan hotel. Prosecutors have said Porter attacked Gondrezick, leaving her covered in blood with a deep cut above her right eye.

She has since denied that, telling the New York Post that Porter “didn’t hit me” and allegations that he beat her were not true.

Porter must complete a court-ordered treatment program in a year — either a 26-week abusive partner intervention program or an equivalent program with a private counselor. If he does so, abides by a limited order of protection, attends all court dates and has no further arrests, he’ll be able to withdraw his assault plea.

At that time, he would be sentenced to time served for the harassment count, effectively clearing his criminal record.

“The resolution will allow Mr. Porter to put this incident, which involved false felony allegations and false facts, behind him with no criminal record and move forward,” Porter’s lawyers, Phillip Jobe and Stephanie Kelemen, said in a statement.

Prosecutors initially said during Porter’s arraignment that the attack left Gondrezick with a fractured neck vertebra and a deep cut above her right eye, but prosecutors dropped one of the assault charges in October, acknowledging that he did not fracture Gondrezick’s neck during the alleged assault.

The Rockets traded Porter in October to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who then waived him.

Information from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Associated Press is included in this report.