Will Scottie Scheffler Face Trial & Jail Time After PGA Championship Ends?

It was a dramatic morning start for Scottie Scheffler’s round two at the 106th PGA Championship! The Louisville Metro Police Department detained the world number one when he tried to overboard the traffic after a fatal accident created havoc near Valhalla. From being jailed at 7:28 to his release at 8:40 a.m. in that span, four grave charges were filed against him.

The 27-year-old was booked under the second-degree assault of a police officer (Felony), criminal mischief (Misdemeanor), Reckless driving (Violation), and Disregarding a police officer’s orders (Misdemeanor). Over these four charges, the 10-time PGA Tour winner was assumed to spend from a few days to 5 to 10 years in jail with fines going above $10,000. But as he has been released from confinement, it had been a question if the charges were dropped and if will Scheffler face any trial.

Exploring Scottie Scheffler’s jail time after release

The longtime attorney from Louisville, David Barber relayed what usually happens in the case of felony, misdemeanor, and violation charges. He told Golf Digest that Scottie Scheffler’s charge of criminal mischief is of third degree which means that the property damage was not as valuable.

Then, as Scheffler didn’t or could not hear the police officer, he was charged with disregarding police officer’s commands. For that as well, Barber explained that Scheffler would possibly not be behind bars. The veteran attorney said, “The penalties for any of this would most likely be fines, and the reckless driving charge could result in points on his license. But I wouldn’t think most people are going to do jail time for a little bit of property damage.” 

Later, it was discovered that the property damage was the wear and tear on Officer Bryan Gillis’s pants. Thus, for three out of four charges, Scheffler would be fined between $20 and $250 fines from the court. The Dallas native has his arraignment scheduled on May 21st, one day after the PGA Championship ends.

Now, the most serious of all is the felony charge. When Scheffler was driving the car, it was reported that at one point the police officer reached inside the car. But the car didn’t stop and the operating officer was injured a bit. For assault against police personnel, Scheffler could face 5 to 10 years in jail. But Barber thinks that may not be the case.

Will the court subject Scottie Scheffler to jail time for a felony?

Attorney David Barber extrapolated that usually, people charged with a felony do not get an immediate release from jail, which was atypical in Scheffler’s case. Secondly, now that Scheffler was released, Barber explained that the reviewing judge would probably have not found the world no. 1 a danger to the community, thus his quick release from approval.

Taking note of everything, Barber found it rare that the prosecution would move forward with the felony charges. They were likely to get dropped. He further explained that if the police department decides to not amend any plea deal, Scheffler could face a trial. But in his 30 years of experience, the odds were against it.

Surprisingly, Scheffler’s hired team of Steve Romine has started the proceeding, and per Kent McAllister, the legal team would be pressing charges against the LMPD and Officer Bryan Gillis “for wrongful imprisonment, harassment, and excessive use of force.”

The verdict on Scottie Scheffler’s case would be found out after the May 21st court hearing.