Highly touted freshman Pitt basketball player Dior Johnson charged with assaulting woman, suspended from team
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A University of Pittsburgh basketball player is facing charges of aggravated assault, strangulation and false imprisonment after an incident that took place last month.
Dior Johnson, 18, of Forbes Avenue, Oakland, is accused of assaulting a woman Sept. 5 and again the next morning in his apartment because he was angry she got his cell phone wet, according to an affidavit filed by Pittsburgh police.
Pitt officials announced Friday night that Johnson has been suspended indefinitely, “pending the resolution of legal charges filed against him.” Officials said they became aware of the charges Friday afternoon.
A Pitt spokesman said suspension is standard policy in the face of felony charges.
According to arrest papers, the woman told police Johnson slapped her face with “full force,” on Sept. 5, then left the apartment with her cell phone. The complaint states Johnson returned to the apartment the next morning, and the two got into an argument that resulted in Johnson punching the woman in her arms, stomach and head.
The woman told police she tried to leave, but Johnson would not let her.
The woman told police she called 911, but Johnson hung up the phone and chased her with scissors, eventually pushing her head into a bed, making it difficult for her to breathe.
The woman told police Johnson then began cutting his own arm with the scissors and told the victim that if the police came they would take her to jail, not him, according to the complaint. “I’ll make them think you did this,” Johnson said according to the complaint.
The woman told police Johnson continued hitting her after he cut himself.
The complaint identifies Johnson as a Pitt basketball player and states that he tried to call off from a scheduled practice because he feared the woman would leave the apartment and call police again.
The victim told police she was able to leave the apartment after Johnson left. She received medical attention and emailed the discharge papers to police.
Johnson is the third Pitt basketball player in the past 21 months to face criminal charges in Pittsburgh.
Center John Hugley was charged in January 2021 in connection with a vehicle stolen from near Pitt’s campus in the summer of 2020. Hugley eventually had two charges of criminal conspiracy and one charge of receiving property dropped by prosecutors for one charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a second-degree misdemeanor.
After rejoining the team last season, he was named honorable mention All-ACC after the 2021-22 season.
In November 2021, guard Ithiel Horton, who is no longer with the team, was arrested and charged with punching a police officer on the South Side. Aggravated assault charges eventually were dropped, and Horton pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.
Both players were suspended at the time of the incidents before rejoining the team.
Johnson, a four-star prospect, is the prize recruit in coach Jeff Capel’s class of 2022. He was competing for a starting job, and — at least — was expected to become a valuable part of Capel’s rotation at guard.
Johnson is ranked 38th overall in the ’22 class and the No. 7 point guard, according to Rivals.com. He is Pitt’s highest-rated recruit since Steven Adams, who was rated the No. 3 center in 2012.