Link
IU star Hardy jailed for 2 days on battery count
By Sara Eaton and Steve Warden
The Journal Gazette
Indiana University wide receiver James W. Hardy III appeared in Allen Superior Court Monday on charges he battered his girlfriend and their son.
Hardy, 20, who provided an address on the 700 block of West Gorely in Bloomington, is charged with misdemeanor counts of domestic battery and interference with the reporting of a crime after being arrested Friday. During his hearing Monday, a judge set his bond at $750 per charge for a total of $1,500.
Hardy, a 2004 graduate of Elmhurst High School, was IU’s leading receiver last season with 61 receptions for 893 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 61 catches were the third most for a single season in Indiana history, the 893 yards rank fifth all-time, and the 10 touchdowns are the second-most in one season at IU.
He was named second team all-Big Ten by the media and named a Rivals.com Freshman All-American.
Hardy spent this past weekend in jail. He was released Monday on bond. As a condition set by the judge, Hardy is not allowed to have any contact with the victim.
Contacted by The Journal Gazette on Monday, Hardy had no comment.
The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Hardy became the first IU receiver since Ernie Jones in 1987 to catch at least one touchdown in seven of his first eight games. He also caught two touchdowns against Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State.
Indiana football coach Terry Hoeppner could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon. A university spokesman said Hardy’s arrest was under review.
“We are aware of the situation and are still in the process of collecting facts on the matter,” IU spokesman Pete Rhoda said. “If and when the matter is settled, we will take the appropriate actions.”
Hardy also played one season of basketball for the Hoosiers, starting in three of the 23 games in which he played.
Friday, Fort Wayne police responded to 3509 S. Hanna St. about 5:40 p.m. after dispatchers received a 911 call and could hear screaming and profanity before the caller hung up. Dispatchers re-dialed the number, but no one answered. The woman identified as Hardy’s girlfriend in court records eventually called dispatchers back and said police were not needed.
A probable cause affidavit states Hardy struck his girlfriend of seven years and their infant son. Responding officers found Hardy’s girlfriend sitting in the grass across the street from the house crying. Her shirt was torn and she had reddish marks on her neck.
According to police report, the red marks began on the left side of her neck and extended around the back to the right side of her neck. She did not have any marks on the front of her neck.
Initially, she told officers nothing happened and that the marks on her neck were from an altercation with another woman earlier in the week. Officers entered the home to check on the baby, whom Hardy was feeding. Hardy’s shirt was also torn, according to the affidavit.
Officers also found a cordless phone broken into four pieces and unplugged from the electrical outlet inside the home, according to the affidavit.
Hardy gave officers several versions of what happened. At one point he said he and his girlfriend argued verbally and did not have a physical confrontation. He blamed the broken phone on his infant son. Later he told officers his girlfriend, “ ‘got into his face’ and he ‘pushed her away with his hand into her neck and that is where the red marks came from.’ ”
Hardy later told officers he turned the phone off when his girlfriend was trying to make a call because it was on speaker phone mode, but he wasn’t sure whom she was trying to contact, according to the affidavit.
According to a police report, Hardy was cooperative with police but he repeatedly asked not be arrested. During the ongoing conversation, Hardy mentioned to officers his attempts to seek a career in the NFL, and how an arrest would ruin his reputation. His girlfriend also pleaded with police to not arrest him, repeatedly questioning why they didn’t believe her that nothing happened.
The charges are each punishable by up to one year in jail if Hardy is convicted.
He is scheduled to make his next appearance in Allen Superior Court June 5. Fort Wayne attorney Randall Hammond is representing Hardy, according to court records.
