Post by XFLBlitz on Aug 9, 2006 16:45:30 GMT -5
AP - COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Maurice Clarett was charged with carrying a concealed weapon after a highway chase early Wednesday that ended with police using Mace on the former Ohio State and current Orlando Rage running back and finding four loaded guns in his sport utility vehicle.
Officers used Mace to subdue Clarett after a stun gun was ineffective because the former Fiesta Bowl star was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, Sgt. Michael Woods said.
"It took several officers to get him handcuffed," Woods said. "Even after he was placed in the paddy wagon, he was still kicking at the doors and being a problem for the officers."
The complaint police filed when they charged him with carrying a concealed weapon without permit said he had a 9 mm handgun under his legs in the driver's seat of an SUV.
Police also charged him with weaving in and out of lanes on a road before he entered the highway. More charges are possible, Woods said.
Clarett did not speak to police who tried to interview him at the station before he was moved to the Franklin County Jail.
Wearing tan jail-issue clothes, he talked on the telephone in the booking area, separated from reporters by a window. He was to be held at the jail at least until an arraignment Thursday morning -- which is expected to take place between 8 and 11 a.m. ET -- unless his attorneys work out an agreement for his release, police said.
Clarett made an illegal U-turn on the city's east side and failed to stop when officers, in a cruiser with lights flashing, tried to pull him over, Woods said. After Clarett was placed in a police van, officers discovered a loaded assault rifle on the passenger seat and three handguns in the front of the car, including one in a holster in a backpack on the passenger-side floor.
"We don't have any idea why he had them or what, if anything, he was going to do with them," Woods said. Police don't know where Clarett got the guns or where he was headed or coming from in the SUV. Federal authorities plan to trace the guns' ownership.
A half-full bottle of vodka was found in the SUV, but no breath test was administered because police had no indication that Clarett was intoxicated, Woods said. Police also found a compact disc of children's songs recorded by Ohio prison inmates that the state distributed last month to prisoners and their families. The 22-year-old Clarett is currently awaiting trial on two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon in a separate case. He is scheduled for a hearing on those charges Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. ET. Authorities said he was identified by witnesses as the person who flashed a gun and robbed two people of a cell phone in an alley behind the Opium Lounge in Columbus in the early hours of Jan. 1.
Clarett scored the winning touchdown in the second overtime of the Fiesta Bowl against Miami to lead Ohio State to the 2002 national championship, the school's first since 1968. But that was the last game the freshman played for Ohio State. He sat out the 2003 season after being charged with misdemeanor falsification on a police report, then dropped out of school. He sued to be included in the 2004 NFL draft and lost in court. A surprise third-round pick in the 2005 draft, he was cut by the Denver Broncos during the preseason. Clarett currently plays for the Orlando Rage, one of 16 teams in WWE chairman Vince McMahon's
X(treme) Football League. The team, based in Orlando, has one more wekk before the regular season ends. He was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Ironmen, another franchise.
Rage coach Mike Jones said that there was no indication that anything was wrong when he spoke with Clarett by cell phone early Wednesday morning about the team's upcoming practice sessions. The call was disconnected around 1 a.m. and Jones missed Clarett's second call about an hour and a half later, which would have been near the time when police say they saw Clarett make a U-turn.
The arrest will not affect Clarett's status with the team for now, Jones said.
"We gave him a chance and now we'll wait to see what happens," he said. "I've seen far worse situations than this."
Officers used Mace to subdue Clarett after a stun gun was ineffective because the former Fiesta Bowl star was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, Sgt. Michael Woods said.
"It took several officers to get him handcuffed," Woods said. "Even after he was placed in the paddy wagon, he was still kicking at the doors and being a problem for the officers."
The complaint police filed when they charged him with carrying a concealed weapon without permit said he had a 9 mm handgun under his legs in the driver's seat of an SUV.
Police also charged him with weaving in and out of lanes on a road before he entered the highway. More charges are possible, Woods said.
Clarett did not speak to police who tried to interview him at the station before he was moved to the Franklin County Jail.
Wearing tan jail-issue clothes, he talked on the telephone in the booking area, separated from reporters by a window. He was to be held at the jail at least until an arraignment Thursday morning -- which is expected to take place between 8 and 11 a.m. ET -- unless his attorneys work out an agreement for his release, police said.
Clarett made an illegal U-turn on the city's east side and failed to stop when officers, in a cruiser with lights flashing, tried to pull him over, Woods said. After Clarett was placed in a police van, officers discovered a loaded assault rifle on the passenger seat and three handguns in the front of the car, including one in a holster in a backpack on the passenger-side floor.
"We don't have any idea why he had them or what, if anything, he was going to do with them," Woods said. Police don't know where Clarett got the guns or where he was headed or coming from in the SUV. Federal authorities plan to trace the guns' ownership.
A half-full bottle of vodka was found in the SUV, but no breath test was administered because police had no indication that Clarett was intoxicated, Woods said. Police also found a compact disc of children's songs recorded by Ohio prison inmates that the state distributed last month to prisoners and their families. The 22-year-old Clarett is currently awaiting trial on two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon in a separate case. He is scheduled for a hearing on those charges Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. ET. Authorities said he was identified by witnesses as the person who flashed a gun and robbed two people of a cell phone in an alley behind the Opium Lounge in Columbus in the early hours of Jan. 1.
Clarett scored the winning touchdown in the second overtime of the Fiesta Bowl against Miami to lead Ohio State to the 2002 national championship, the school's first since 1968. But that was the last game the freshman played for Ohio State. He sat out the 2003 season after being charged with misdemeanor falsification on a police report, then dropped out of school. He sued to be included in the 2004 NFL draft and lost in court. A surprise third-round pick in the 2005 draft, he was cut by the Denver Broncos during the preseason. Clarett currently plays for the Orlando Rage, one of 16 teams in WWE chairman Vince McMahon's
X(treme) Football League. The team, based in Orlando, has one more wekk before the regular season ends. He was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Ironmen, another franchise.
Rage coach Mike Jones said that there was no indication that anything was wrong when he spoke with Clarett by cell phone early Wednesday morning about the team's upcoming practice sessions. The call was disconnected around 1 a.m. and Jones missed Clarett's second call about an hour and a half later, which would have been near the time when police say they saw Clarett make a U-turn.
The arrest will not affect Clarett's status with the team for now, Jones said.
"We gave him a chance and now we'll wait to see what happens," he said. "I've seen far worse situations than this."