ISU redshirt junior wide receiver Albert Gary pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree theft and going armed with intent, both felonies, at a plea hearing Monday morning.

Gary, accompanied by his attorney Matthew Boles, entered guilty pleas on both counts in front of District Court Judge Timothy Finn. Originally charged with first-degree robbery in November 2011, Gary agreed to a plea agreement in which the charges became first-degree theft — Gary admitted to stealing a BB gun from a roommate — and going armed with intent, a Class D felony. Based on the agreement, Gary will be required to pay approximately $2,000 in fines and court fees, spend time at a residential facility and face no more than three years of probation.

Gary’s sentencing date has been scheduled for May 21. Finn noted during the hearing that the sentencing judge can decide to alter Gary’s sentence outlined in the plea agreement.

Boles told reporters after the hearing that the residential facility Gary likely will be housed at will be the Curt Forbes Residential Center in Ames. If the sentencing judge upholds the plea agreement, Gary would likely be admitted at the center within two weeks after the sentencing hearing and would stay there, Boles said, until the center determined he had been “provided maximum benefits.”

As for Gary’s football career with Iowa State, he participated in spring practices but did not play in Saturday’s spring game due to a knee injury suffered in the final week of practices, ISU coach Paul Rhoads said.

“I think first and foremost is that Albert, by the end of the summer, will be nine credits short of a degree from the university,” Boles said when asked about his future as a football player. “That’s the critical piece of this.”

Boles noted that Gary will need to go through a process with Iowa State to determine if he indeed will be able to continue his schooling. 

Gary’s charges stem from an incident on June 19, 2011, when a man called ISU Police and said he and two others had been robbed at gunpoint on Central Campus. The man told ISU Police that approximately six men approached his group and that one of the men patted him down, while displaying a handgun.

Also at that time, ISU Police responded to a 911 call from a campus emergency phone. Officers arrived on campus and chased several men who were running north away from the scene. A short time later, police recovered four pellet guns discovered north of the robbery scene.

Following investigation and interviews conducted by ISU Police, witnesses identified Gary as the person responsible for the incident. Witnesses said Gary ran from the scene and was not identified until later during the investigation.

Rhoads announced on Nov. 14, one day before Gary turned himself in at the Story County Justice Center, that he had already suspended Gary for the first three games of the season.

In the latter part of the 2011 season, Gary emerged as one of the Cyclones’ best receiving targets, leading the team in receiving in three consecutive games against Kansas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. The Ocala, Fla., native finished the regular season fifth on the team in catches with 21 for 267 receiving yards and two touchdowns.