By Ethan Varian
The Reporter, Vacaville, Calif.
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Police body-cam footage shows officers handcuffing and detaining a stunned San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York at an Ohio mobile home park last weekend, where authorities said he intended to solicit a sex worker.
York pleaded no contest Monday to reduced charges for which he served a day in jail, and the NFL is reviewing the incident for possible punishment, commissioner Roger Goodell said.
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Officers arrested York, who was wearing his wedding ring and a gray Yankees T-shirt and basketball shorts, after pulling over his rented Volkswagen SUV at the park in East Palestine, Ohio, near where he is known to have a home.
While being detained, York repeatedly asked officers, “Can I ask what you’re doing?” according to footage published by TMZ, the New York Post and NBC Bay Area. When officers asked York if he was planning to meet anyone, he said no and replied that he was “just driving.”
As officers searched his car, they found a wad of cash in $20 bills. York, using the name “Joe” as an alias, had agreed to pay a person he thought was a sex worker $160 after responding to an ad on an undercover prostitution website, according to a Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force incident report.
“It’s crazy the people that do this,” one officer said. “They could do whatever they want. They could do other things. They could go other ways.”
After officers discovered two phones in the car, they sent a text from a separate cellphone. One of the phones lit up, appearing to link York to a number that had been texting in response to the ad. “Oh yeah, it’s the nude girl,” an officer said.
“He said he was from Chicago, a real estate guy,” one of the officers then remarked.
After the arrest, authorities initially charged York with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools. However, prosecutors reduced the prostitution charge to disorderly conduct under a plea agreement, court records show.
York, 46, was sentenced to one day in jail on each misdemeanor count, to be served concurrently, and received credit for the day he had already spent in custody. He also paid $1,150 in fines after posting a $5,000 bond Sunday.
York filed for divorce from his wife, Danielle, on May 11, citing irreconcilable differences, according to Santa Clara County court records. The pair has agreed to share custody of their two children, ages 10 and 13, according to the records. The separation of their assets has not been determined, and the case is still pending.
On Wednesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said at the league’s owners meetings in Atlanta that York could face discipline.
“It’s being reviewed under the personal conduct policy,” Goodell said Wednesday at the owners’ meetings in Atlanta. “We’ll do that, and when there’s something to be reported, we’ll talk.”
York was not in attendance at the meetings, as the 49ers were instead represented by CEO Al Guido, who frequently attends league meetings alongside the team owner.
York has been the 49ers’ primary owner for the last two years, taking over from his mother, Denise DeBartolo York, who ran the team with her husband, Dr. John York. The younger York was previously the CEO, a post he assumed in 2008.
The York-DeBartolo family has controlled the team since 1977, when Youngstown, Ohio businessman Ed DeBartolo Sr. bought the franchise.
The team plays its final preseason game Thursday against the Raiders in Las Vegas, and opens the regular season Sept. 10 in Australia against the rival Los Angeles Rams.
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