Former Fresno State basketball player Joseph Hunter enters plea to felony gun charges

Former Fresno State basketball player Joseph Hunter pleaded not guilty Thursday to two felony gun charges.

The 19-year-old Hunter, the top player in coach Justin Hutson’s 2022 recruiting class, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking and one count of possession of an assault weapon.

If convicted,, the San Joaquin Memorial High graduate faces a maximum sentence of three years and eight months.

Also being arraigned with Hunter was Isaiah Pirtle, who is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of possession of ammunition by a felon. Pirtle faces a maximum of eight years and eight months.

A third co-defendant, Vonkell Damar Holmes, remains at large. He faces charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of an assault weapon, carrying a maximum sentence of three years and eight months

Hunter and Pirtle were arrested May 26 by the Central Valley Gun Crime Task Force after the completion of multiple search warrants.

Hunter, a four-star recruited regarded as one of the top shooting guards in the nation, was dismissed from the team following his arrest.

Hunter and Pirtle return to court on June 13 for a pre-preliminary hearing.