Police/Legal Blotter (stop breaking the law, asshole!)

[stxbuck]

How does a college student post a 100,000 dollar bail? His family must be pretty loaded.

When you enlist the services of a bailbondsman your family pays him a straight fee for his services-how much, I don't know. Then, the bondsman puts up $10,000 of assets-and requires grandma or mom to sign the deed to the house over to him as a safety policy. So, if you run, A-the bondsman is responsible for $100,000, and B-he sells grandma's house to raise the cash. This is how bounty hunters make their $$$, they are hired by the bondsmen to get their money back-and save grandma's house. I think a lot of places will actually let the bondman write a check for 10%, and not cash it if he has a reliable record, they will go all out only if you skip out on bail.

 

[scooter1369]

scooter,
We should all reserve judgement.

But how is what Dukes was charged with far worse?

Being accused of rape is one thing. Being accused of raping a child/gross imposition with a minor/child molestation is a whole different matter.

 

[ysubuck]

scooter,
I think we need to take a step back and look at the two situations.

The kid at USC is charged with rape/sexual assault. That is a pretty straightforward charge that carries with it serious prison time. Rape/assault are crimes of violence. That kind of a charge tells me that the girl is saying that she didn't want to do something and the USC kid forced her to do it anyway, violently.

We don't know what Albert Dukes was charged with in the end, but it carries with it a 3 month probation. I'm not anything even close to a lawyer, but that doesn't seem to fit with a rape of a child/gross sexual imposition charge.

What I'm saying is that all things point to the relationship between Albert and this girl being consensual. Is there a huge difference between 18 and 13? The law says that you are an adult when you are 18, but not 17. The law also says that you can go and die in Iraq, but you can't buy a beer.

What I do know is that a 13 year old girl can look every bit of 21 and there aren't a whole lot of 18 year old boys who are going to card a girl that seems willing.

EDIT: Let's also not forget that anyone can accuse anyone of anything. As an educator/coach I am all too aware of where this type of thing can lead. Would I give one of my female students a ride home if it was pouring rain and she missed her bus? Not on your life. I'll stay with her until she can get a hold of someone to pick her up or I'll get a female staff member to ride with me as I give the girl a ride home. But if that girl and I are alone together for any amount of time she can say whatever she wants and, right or wrong, that accusation will follow me for the rest of my life.

 

[scooter1369]

scooter,
I think we need to take a step back and look at the two situations.

The kid at USC is charged with rape/sexual assault. That is a pretty straightforward charge that carries with it serious prison time. Rape/assault are crimes of violence. That kind of a charge tells me that the girl is saying that she didn't want to do something and the USC kid forced her to do it anyway, violently.

We don't know what Albert Dukes was charged with in the end, but it carries with it a 3 month probation. I'm not anything even close to a lawyer, but that doesn't seem to fit with a rape of a child/gross sexual imposition charge.

What I'm saying is that all things point to the relationship between Albert and this girl being consensual. Is there a huge difference between 18 and 13? The law says that you are an adult when you are 18, but not 17. The law also says that you can go and die in Iraq, but you can't buy a beer.

What I do know is that a 13 year old girl can look every bit of 21 and there aren't a whole lot of 18 year old boys who are going to card a girl that seems willing.

What he was charged with to get him down there was not a watered down charge. He was accused of forcing a 12 yearold to give him oral sex. That is why he ended up in Florida to fight charges.

What they settled on isn't what I was discussing. Wright's charge could still be lowered to trespassing by next month. I was going off the original charge.

 

[ysubuck]

If you are going with the original accusation then I couldn't agree more. There is nothing worse than being accused of raping a child.

But see my edit in my previous post on accusations. I can accuse Jim Tressel of molesting collies. Doesn't make it true.

 

[scooter1369]

If you are going with the original accusation then I couldn't agree more. There is nothing worse than being accused of raping a child.

But see my edit in my previous post on accusations. I can accuse Jim Tressel of molesting collies. Doesn't make it true.

Now you and I are officially on the same page. I'll be coaching girls softball (7-9 year old rec league) this year, but in no way will I put myself in a position that could be misinterpreted.

 

[BB73]

It's amazing to me that this thread has paid very little attention to the player under suspicion for a first-degree murder charge. This could be the worst offense committed by a college athlete since the Baylor basketball tragedy.

 

[Steve19]

It's amazing to me that this thread has paid very little attention to the player under suspicion for a first-degree murder charge. This could be the worst offense committed by a college athlete since the Baylor basketball tragedy.

It's actually been split between this and another thread. I'm with Grad, it's just too damn sad to talk about. So much potential thrown away for what, a girlfriend? Some macho urge? Or perhaps there is more to the bad blood between these guys. My problem is that, if this were OSU, you'd have ESPiN and a hundred other "investigative journalists" crawling all over the jails in Franklin County and the campus. As you say, an incredibly terrible tragedy, but it will probably get little if any coverage. Clarett is still a bigger story! :(

 

[methomps]

yeah but it was some jealous ex girlfriend exacting her revenge i think. methomps?

Dennis was never actually arrested. The full details were never released, but basically the girl never actually said Dennis raped her and the DA closed the case.

 

[BB73]

Cal suspends two players after traffic stop arrests

http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/8335535

BERKELEY, Calif. -- California receiver Robert Jordan and a freshman teammate were suspended by coach Jeff Tedford on Monday for their arrests during a traffic stop in February.

Jordan was suspended for the Golden Bears' season opener against Sacramento State on Sept. 3. Bernard Hicks, a defensive back who missed last season with a knee injury, will sit out the first three games.

Hicks, a Fresno native, was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession after Berkeley police allegedly found several bags of the drug in the players' car several blocks from Memorial Stadium. Jordan was under investigation for possessing a hunting knife as a concealed weapon, but the charges were dropped.

Jordan caught 29 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman last season. He started Cal's final six games after three of the school's top receivers were sidelined by injuries during its 10-2 season.

Hicks won't participate in spring practice with the Bears because he's still recovering from knee surgery, Tedford said.

AP NEWS

Three dismissed from Iowa State

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/ncaa/03/28/bc.fbc.iowastate.dismis.ap/index.html

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Tyease Thompson, Jerry Gair and Nick Davidson have been dismissed from the Iowa State football program, coach Dan McCarney announced Monday.
McCarney declined to elaborate, but Thompson, 19, a freshman running back from Lakeland, Fla., and Gair, 20, a sophomore defensive back from La Place, La., are awaiting trial on attempted burglary charges.

<!--startclickprintexclude-->ISU spokesman Tom Kroeschell said he could not comment on why Davidson, a defensive lineman from Hurst, Texas, who redshirted his freshman year, was being dismissed from the Cyclones.

"We have a variety of team rules and university regulations that all student athletes are supposed to uphold," he said.

Police said Thompson and Gair were found Jan. 14 in someone else's dorm room, looking for money. Gair also was charged with second-degree theft and third-degree burglary for the alleged theft of a laptop the same day.

McCarney also announced that Cephus Johnson, suspended after allegedly punching a man in a fight over his girlfriend, had successfully appealed his suspension from spring practice.

"He will play in the spring game," Kroeschell said. "Beyond that, no final decision has been made."

Johnson, 22, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., faces trial in April on an assault charge. A defensive end, he played in nine games last season, recording 23 tackles, including three for a loss.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press

 

[jimotis4heisman]

basketball related

http://www.dispatch.com/bball/bball.php?story=dispatch/2005/03/29/20050329-D3-02.html&chck=t

OSU MEN’S BASKETBALL
Sullinger pleads guilty to reckless operation charge
Prosecution drops possible drunken-driving conviction
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Ohio State basketball player J.J. Sullinger avoided a possible drunken-driving conviction yesterday when he pleaded guilty in Franklin County Municipal Court to reckless operation of a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

Sullinger, 22, of Columbus, was charged with drunken driving Sept. 4 after Columbus police observed him driving erratically and stopped him at 12:19 a.m. on I-71 north of Broad Street. His blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.099 percent by a breathalyzer test, according to a police report. The legal limit in Ohio is 0.08 percent.

Sullinger’s attorney, William R. Meeks, said the prosecutor’s office agreed to accept the plea to the reduced charge because there was probable cause to dispute the original charge based on Sullinger’s "superlative" performance in the field-sobriety test that was administered and videotaped by the arresting officer.

"There were no balance issues," Meeks said. "Because of that fact, we were pretty well convinced we would have to challenge the scientific believability of the (breathalyzer) machine."

Meeks said there also were different test results, 0.099 percent and 0.101 percent, on "two different pieces of paper . . . which was going to be yet another issue in the case."

Sullinger, who was fined $250 and placed on two years’ probation, admitted after the court proceeding that he had "a few drinks" with friends before he was stopped on the freeway for failing to signal before changing lanes.

"I just would like to say that I’m sorry," he said. "I made a mistake. I don’t advise anybody to drink and drive. I know there are little kids out there that look up to me and hopefully they don’t make the same mistake I made."

Meeks said Sullinger satisfactorily completed an alcohol assessment and counseling program administered by Ohio State after the arrest.

Sullinger, who has one season of eligibility remaining at Ohio State, said his punishment from coach Thad Matta was 5-mile runs beginning at 5 a.m. for 15 days last fall. He said he also wrote letters of apology to "people affiliated with the university and basketball team."

"My dad told me you’re not judged by this, you’re judged by what you do after this," said Sullinger, who was accompanied to court by his mother, Barbara. "As long as I keep my nose clean and don’t make any more mistakes, I think I can get past this."

[email protected]

 

[wadc45]

I was really disappointed when I heard that about Sullinger on the radio on my way to work this morning...I hope he gets his act together.

 

[gregorylee]

I was really disappointed when I heard that about Sullinger on the radio on my way to work this morning...I hope he gets his act together.

Wow, I find it hard to believe that he got stopped on 9/4 and this morning is the first time I heard anything about it. Hopefully he learned his lesson.

This is why I have a nice big deck, some cumfy chairs, and beer in the fridge in my garage. I might get drunk, but I aint drivin'!

 

[wadc45]

Wow, I find it hard to believe that he got stopped on 9/4 and this morning is the first time I heard anything about it. Hopefully he learned his lesson.

This is why I have a nice big deck, some cumfy chairs, and beer in the fridge in my garage. I might get drunk, but I aint drivin'!

agreed...I remember hearing something about it when it happened, but I assumed it had been handled in-house. Well, glad that J.J. will hopefully be able to put this behind him and have a productive senior year.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Sullinger’s attorney, William R. Meeks, said the prosecutor’s office agreed to accept the plea to the reduced charge because there was probable cause to dispute the original charge based on Sullinger’s "superlative" performance in the field-sobriety test that was administered and videotaped by the arresting officer.

"There were no balance issues," Meeks said. "Because of that fact, we were pretty well convinced we would have to challenge the scientific believability of the (breathalyzer) machine."

Meeks said there also were different test results, 0.099 percent and 0.101 percent, on "two different pieces of paper . . . which was going to be yet another issue in the case."

Total bullshit. I'm not a top-flight b-ball player and even I can pass an FST with flying colors if I'm only at 0.1%. The balance test means jack shit. Plus, how can they challange the validity of the breathalyzer when both tests were within 0.02% of each other and both tests were well above the 0.8% limit. The kid was drunk, he was driving erratically, and should be drilled for DUI...period.