Trapasso Arrested Again!
When is this crap going to end?
OSU FOOTBALL
Trapasso again charged with underage drinking
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A.J. Trapasso’s two arrests for underage drinking in less than four weeks has Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel worried about the freshman punter.
Trapasso was arrested and charged Monday by Perkins Township police near Sandusky, according to a Sandusky Municipal Court spokesman. Details of the incident were not immediately available from police.
Trapasso, 18, of Pickerington, was arrested April 25 and charged with underage drinking in Columbus.
"The thing that bothers me most is it is the same allegation," Tressel said. "That jumps out at me. What concerns me is it involves alcohol, and we have to attack it for (Trapasso’s) sake because that obviously is and can be a serious issue and problem."
Tressel said he was still in the process of gathering information about the incident and had not decided on any potential action or discipline.
Trapasso’s attorney, Steve Brown, entered a plea of not guilty to the April 25 charge and requested a jury trial. A pretrial hearing is set for June 7.
Brown said he expected Trapasso to pay a fine by mail for the Sandusky charge, and he did not think that charge would affect his Columbus case.
"If he’s up in Sandusky doing one thing, it doesn’t mean he did it down in Columbus," Brown said. "Each case stands on its facts, and our case doesn’t change."
Both charges are first-degree misdemeanors, which carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Trapasso graduated early from Pickerington Central and enrolled at
OSU for spring quarter. He participated in spring practice and is expected to contend for the starting punter’s job.
kgordon@dispatch.com