 "Photo:")
Head coach Rick Stockstill dismissed senior wide receiver Eldred Jamar King from the Blue Raider football team on June 24 after King pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor domestic assault charges.
The decision came after the original announcement was made that King had been suspended for the 2009 season. At the time, Stockstill said he believed there was only one charge pending against King. When the coach was informed that there were actually two charges pending, he cut the receiver from the team.
"In order to comply with requests from the media, I made a statement before receiving all the information," Stockstill said. "Where we made the mistake was we should have said the decision was not finalized, as we still had not received all of the information.
"Once we received all of the documents today, I felt it was necessary that King be dismissed from the team."
King has been arrested three times since March 1, all of which involved disputes between he and his girlfriend Dazarae Higgs. The first incident took place on Woodbury Pike after King called the police to inform them that he was in a fight with Higgs. When officers arrived, King had blood on his hand, which he admitted was from punching Higgs in the mouth while she was driving. Higgs told police that she did not wish to press charges at the time, but it was enough for Stockstill to suspend King from spring practice.
The second incident occurred on May 1 when Murfreesboro Police were called to the Raiders Ridge apartment complex on Wenlon Drive. When police arrived, officers found King in the courtyard on his knees yelling and crying and armed with a 5-inch steak knife. Police ordered King to drop the weapon, and when he did not comply, police hit him with two blasts of "chemical spray," the Murfreesboro police report said.
Upon entering the apartment, police found Higgs, who had been punched in the mouth, kicked in the head and choked until she vomited, briefly losing consciousness. The Murfreesboro Police report said that the dispute erupted over text messages on Higgs' cell phone.
King was charged with domestic assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and public intoxication. The arrest caused the previous case to be reinstated, leaving King facing two separate charges.
Five days later, police reports said King went to Higgs' apartment and got into an argument with her over leaving. Higgs said that she was getting ready for work while King was shouting that he was ready to leave. When police arrived, King told them he didn't want any trouble and that he just wanted to leave.
When the officers learned of his previous arrests, his presence at the apartment was determined to be a violation of his bond condition and he was arrested again.
At King's June 18 court date, he pleaded guilty to the domestic assault and unlawful possession of weapon charges. He received a sentence of 14 days in jail, 11 months and 29 days of probation, as well as an order to participate in an eight-week anger management program, in addition to paying all of Higgs' medical and dental expenses. The violation of bond condition as well as public intoxication charges were dismissed.
Stockstill said that just because King is off the team, doesn't mean he still doesn't wish the best for him.
"This is a decision that disappoints me," Stockstill said. "I really wanted to try and help Eldred out and turn his life around, but I had to make a decision that is in the best interest of our team and university.
"I hope Eldred can put this behind him, learn from his mistake and be able to earn his degree."
Be the first to comment on this article!