Report: Ex-Lion Titus Young denied early parole

Former Detroit Lions prospect Titus Young will remain in jail in California after being denied parole recently.

The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that Young, serving a four-year prison sentence after assaulting a neighbor in 2016, is being denied parole because of his “history of violent criminality.”

Young, a former wide receiver and a second-round draft pick by the Lions in 2011, is serving his time at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, east of L.A. The L.A. Times reported the parole board, in issuing its report Jan. 31, said Young hasn’t violated any prison rules since being incarcerated but that he has “a pattern of assaultive behavior.”

Young, 25, has been charged with more than two dozen crimes in Southern California since 2013, the L.A. Times reported.

His sentence for assaulting a neighbor is running concurrently alongside a two-year sentence for another assault.

A native of Los Angeles, Young played at Boise State before the Lions took him with the 44th overall pick in 2011. In 2012, he sucker-punched teammate Louis Delmas, and the Lions sent him home. The following February, the Lions released him.

In two seasons with Detroit, he played in 26 games, catching 81 passes for 990 yards, and scored 10 touchdowns.

He caught on briefly with the St. Louis Rams, but never made it off the practice squad. He was released 10 days later, and then had a series of run-ins with the law from 2013-16.

In keeping a diary that the L.A. Times reviewed, Young said he is bipolar and hears voices.