Five MSU football players charged with assaulting a cop
STARKVILLE — Five Mississippi State football players, including two starters, are scheduled to appear in Starkville Municipal Court today at 2 p.m. to face charges that they assaulted a police officer.
The five were were arrested and charged with simple assault of a police officer, a felony, late Sunday night, according to a news release from the Starkville Police Department.
Cornerback Derek Pegues and safety Keith Fitzhugh are the starters arrested. Offensive tackle Michael Gates, and defensive ends Charles Burns and Quinton Wesley are the others. All are freshmen.
Each player charged with the felony was held in Webster County Jail until a $25,000 bond was posted, because Oktibbeha County Jail was full.
Through spokesman Mike Nemeth, MSU coach Sylvester Croom said he’ll wait for the legal process to run its course before disciplining the players. “But,” Croom added in a statement, “there will be discipline taken no matter the outcome of the legal process.”
Police say other arrests are “anticipated.”
According to the report, the incident occurred at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday at Level III, a downtown Starkville nightclub, when off-duty police officer Demetric Armstead attempted to break up a fight between two women.
Armstead was attacked by “several individuals” and was knocked to the floor, said the report. He then identified himself as a Starkville police officer, but the attack continued. After Armstead went outside and called for help, on-duty police arrived, as did Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s deputies. The report said that the “attackers” left the scene. A day long investigation took place on Sunday, leading to the arrests.
1 comment:
Jail looks certain in this scuffle unless the cop is willing to drop the charges and not testify, which I seriously doubt. However, anything can be made to go away with enough cash and Alumni support.
Post a Comment