Posted on 01/18/2010 2:35:48 AM PST by abb
Three Duke University freshmen were charged with felonious possession and discharge of a weapon following an early morning incident Sunday on the Duke campus.
The students — John Drew, Kyle Griswould and Brandon Putnam, who are all from Georgia — were members of the Duke football team. They have been dismissed from the squad, and the university also has determined they will not be permitted to return to campus pending the resolution of the charges.
At about 3 a.m. Sunday, Duke University Police heard gunfire coming from a vehicle near the Jarvis residence hall on Duke’s East Campus. The vehicle was later found in the Blackwell residence hall parking lot, also on East Campus, and traced to one of the students who has been charged. The investigation determined the weapon also was fired on Campus Drive.
No one was injured, and the weapon, a semiautomatic handgun, has been recovered by Duke University Police. The three were not shooting at anything, but firing the gun in the air, according to police.
Police are investigating if alcohol was involved, Duke Police Chief John Dailey said. The three are being held in Durham County Jail.
Drew showed some serious promise last season, playing as a true freshman at defensive tackle, a position where most first-year players redshirt. He played in all 12 games last fall with one starting assignment, finishing with 34 tackles, including four tackles for loss, with a one-half sack, two pass breakups, one caused fumble and one fumble recovery.
Griswould, a running back, and Putnam, a defensive end, did not see game action in 2009.
“These types of offenses are going to be associated with dismissal from our team,” head football coach David Cutcliffe said. “While these three young men did not meet the expectations of those in our program, our prayers are with them and their families during this difficult time.”
ping
http://dukechronicle.com/article/3-football-players-face-felony-gun-charges-dismissed-team
3 football players face felony gun charges, dismissed from team
By Lindsey Rupp
January 15, 2010
Three football players were charged with felonious possession and discharge of a weapon Sunday.
Freshmen John Drew, Kyle Griswould and Brandon Putnam have been dismissed from the team and are barred from campus until the charges are resolved. The three students, along with one unidentified non-student, were arrested.
The four were held in jail on $40,000 secured bond Sunday, said Chief John Dailey of the Duke University Police Department.
A fire alarm forced residents to evacuate Aycock residence hall around 3 a.m. Officers responding to the alarm heard shots, which Dailey said were unrelated to the alarm, fired from a car near Jarvis residence hall.
Officers located the vehicle near Blackwell residence hall and traced it to one of the charged suspects. After further investigation, officers also think the suspects discharged the weapon on Campus Drive, according to a Duke news release.
Dailey said he does not know how many shots were fired, but thinks the suspects were firing the weapon—a semi-automatic handgun—into the air.
Although Dailey said the suspects’ motives remain unclear, he said the incident does not pose a continued threat to campus.
Head football coach David Cutcliffe released a statement Sunday announcing the players’ dismissal for unbecoming conduct.
“These types of offenses are going to be associated with dismissal from our team,” Cutcliffe said. “While these three young men did not meet the expectations of those in our program, our prayers are with them and their families during this difficult time.”
Although Cutcliffe said that the team will continue to move forward, Drew, a defensive tackle, had a game presence finishing his freshman season with 34 tackles. Drew played in all 12 games in 2009, including a starting assignment in one.
Griswould, a running back, and Putnam, a defensive end, did not see playing time last Fall.
Dailey said proximity helped officers apprehend the suspects shortly after the shots were fired.
“Clearly anyone who fires a weapon on campus is dangerous, at least at that time,” Dailey said. “We charged them with a pretty serious crime.”
DUPD will continue to investigate where the weapon came from, Dailey said, adding that he is in communication with Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta and the Durham Police Department.
Moneta deferred inquiries about the incident to Dailey.
The campus did not receive a DukeAlert following the incident, and Dailey said he is not sure whether there are plans to send a campus-wide e-mail about the events.
“We felt like there was no ongoing threat and that we had the situation under control,” Dailey said. “Our officers did a really good job and were able to locate the car very quickly and then identify the suspects.”
We be so gangster!
( Idiots. Can’t fix stupid )
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Way to celebrate your Second Amendment rights, morons.
Of course, given recent history around here, maybe I shouldn’t jump to judgement so quickly. This *is* Duke and the Duke and Durham Police Departments we’re talking about.
}:-)4
Duke has a football team?
U.T. Knoxville BASKETBALL player entered a not gulity plea on posseion of handguns, their defense......................we are just protecting ourselves from football players.
Who knew?
I’ll take this opportunity to note that my alma mater beat Duke’s basketball team two Saturdays ago, and beat NC’s other basketball team last Saturday. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO JACKETS!
Now that’s funny right there!
There are probably several programs you could say that of.
Griswould, as in Clark Griswould’s (griswold) kid?
Changed the spelling to protect his daddy.
It looks like their path to becoming physicians has become more complicated.
It’s nice to win football games, but is it really necessary to invite gangs to campus for that purpose?
I must be clairvoyant. How else could I have guessed what these fine outstanding “yutes” would look like.
And justifiably so!
Again, I reiterate that I cheer for whoever the hell plays against Duke University.
“The three were not shooting at anything, but firing the gun in the air, according to police.”
Shooting at “nothing” in populated area means you’re shooting at “everything.” And they should be charged accordingly.
The danger and stupidity of celebratory gunfire notwithstanding, is there any reason why Duke’s football players can’t be a scummy as it’s faculty?
I don’t have all the facts; But I’m sure the police acted stupedly.——NOT
I would like to see crime stats breakdown between ‘athletes’ and non-athletes on major campuses.
+1
Cutcliffe used to be an assistant at Tennessee. I thought he’d be a better choice than Dooley but maybe they made the right choice after all.
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