Tuesday, September 18, 2007

6th Longhorn Arrested Since June


Texas freshman running back James Henry has been charged with two felony counts of obstruction and tampering with evidence, making him the sixth Longhorns player arrested since June.

Henry, who was arrested Monday, is accused of beating up one of the victims of a July home invasion that allegedly involved two other players, Andre Jones and Robert Joseph.

Henry was booked into Travis County Jail where his bail was set at $30,000. He was suspended indefinitely from the team, coach Mack Brown said Tuesday.

Henry, who redshirted last season, has played in two games on special teams for the No. 7 Longhorns (3-0).

Austin police learned of Henry's involvement by listening to taped recordings of Joseph's phone calls from jail, said Det. Anthony Bigongiari.

During the investigation of the robbery, one of the victims told police that some of Joseph's friends had assaulted them. In one of the taped phone calls, Henry said he "went over there and whupped" one of the victims, who told police they were thrown on the ground and punching and kicked in the head several times, Bigongiari said.

Henry, who did not participate in the robbery, was charged with tampering because police believe he disposed of a backpack containing items stolen in the home invasion, Bigongiari said.
Police also charged a third person, Eddie Ramirez, who is not a football player, with threatening the victims.

Brown said Henry would have been suspended earlier if the team had known the latest allegations.

"It's unfortunate that we have just been informed of the situation or we would have been able to address it when it allegedly occurred in July," Brown said.

Henry's arrest is the latest trouble for a program reeling under a string of arrests. On Monday, Brown reinstated linebacker Sergio Kindle and defensive end Henry Melton, who had been suspended for the first three games because of drunken driving arrests over the summer.
Last week, senior safety Tyrell Gatewood was suspended indefinitely after his arrest on drug charges. Freshman defensive back Ben Wells, who was riding with Gatewood when he was pulled over, was given a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia and released.
Jones remains suspended from the team. Joseph had already left the team before his July arrest because of an earlier incident.

Brown said he is disappointed that the arrests have embarrassed the program but challenged the notion that Texas is riddled with problems.

"Young people who do not obey the law, university or team rules will continue to be disciplined with a stern hand and we will move forward. We continue to have a zero tolerance policy in that regard," Brown said. "I will put our long-term record of character up against anyone, and that's why these situations upset me so much."

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