49ers owner Jed York pleads no contest after arrest at Ohio trailer park

San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York pleaded no contest to two criminal charges after being arrested at a trailer park in East Palestine, Ohio, in the early hours of Sunday morning over the weekend.

KRON4 News reported York was first arrested on suspicion of engaging in prostitution before that count was amended to disorderly conduct; he was also charged with possessing criminal tools. A no contest plea does not constitute an admission of guilt but accepts the prescribed punishment. The arrest report does not specify what the alleged criminal tools were.

The East Palestine Police Department and the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force were involved in the operation that led to York’s arrest at the trailer park. Local authorities detained York later in the early hours of Sunday, according to reporting on the incident.

According to the New York Post, court documents state York responded to an advert on a website and “arranged to have sexual activity with [a] female in exchange for $140.” The newspaper’s account is cited in public filings referenced in coverage of the case.

York, 46, was born and raised in Youngstown, which the report describes as a 30-minute drive from East Palestine, and he still maintains a home in the area. He is the nephew of former 49ers majority owner Edward J DeBartolo Jr.

York took day-to-day control of the 49ers in 2008 when he became the team’s chief executive officer and, after acquiring his mother’s shares, became the team’s principal owner in 2024. Since he assumed the CEO role, the 49ers have reached three Super Bowls but lost each time; York also holds stakes in Premier League club Leeds United and Scotland’s Rangers through 49ers Enterprises.

A judge sentenced York to a day in jail for each count to be served concurrently; he was released on Monday morning. He was fined a total of $1,150 and ordered to complete an online course.