Former Husky Claims Illness Caused Wrongdoings

A former University of Washington basketball player has pleaded guilty to third-degree assault after spending six months at a mental hospital for treatment of schizophrenia.

University police responding to a loitering call arrested Mark West, 27, last June after chasing him through campus and into Lake Washington. During the struggle, West knocked over an officer.

It took seven officers to get the 6-foot7 West into the police car, King County prosecutors said.

West pleaded guilty to assault in King County Superior Court Thursday. Judge Ricardo Martinez released him, ruling that the time West has been incarcerated at Western State Hospital fulfilled the sentence for the conviction.

West, who has been arrested several times by campus police and convicted of assault twice, has been living on the streets and struggling with his mental health since at least 1992.

West played for the Huskies from 1987 through 1990, and led the team in rebounding his last two seasons.