Four Hofstra Pride Basketball Players Arrested, Charged, Suspended For Second-Degree Burglary

By Jake Fischer
Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

When the Hofstra Pride take on Southern Methodist and legendary head coach Larry Brown on Saturday, they will be without four of their players. In fact, these players will likely miss considerably more time beyond Saturday’s contest.

Earlier today, freshman forward Jimmy Hall, sophomore guard Shaquille Stokes, freshman guard Dallas Anglin and freshman Kentrell Washington have all been arrested and charged with “various counts of burglary”, Hofstra officials announced Friday afternoon.

The four players, who all play varying roles on the Pride’s roster, were charged in connection with on-campus burglaries in university dorm rooms, police said. Not only were the players suspended indefinitely from the team, but also the school in general.

According to Stephen Gorchov, Associate Director of Athletic Communications, the suspensions include “classes, residence halls and facilities”.

Stokes transferred from Hawaii before beginning his sophomore season after being granted a special waiver from the NCAA that allowed him to come to New York and immediately play for the Pride. The guard, who is averaging 10 points and 2.6 assists for Hofstra as a starter, has been charged with five counts of second-degree burglary.

Next, Hall, a 6-7 freshman forward who’s starting and averaging 12.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game thus far, has been charged with four counts of second-degree burglary. Hall was the biggest recruit for head coach Mo Cassara’s 2012 class and was beginning hic collegiate career better than advertised, looking like an early top-candidate for the CAA Rookie of the Year. Before the alleged burglaries, the forward was leading the team in minutes per game at 32, but will likely not see the court for a very long time.

Washington, a 6-3 freshman guard from Las Vegas, has played in all seven games this season thus far, even making a start. He is averaging 2.4 points per game and was given two counts of second-degree burglary.

Finally, Anglin, a 6-1 freshman guard, has appeared in six of the team’s seven games, scoring 3.2 points per contest. The youngster, who did not appear in the team’s double-overtime loss to Marshall, has been charged with one count of second-degree burglary.

Police said the burglaries took place between Oct. 4 and Nov. 5. All took place in dorm rooms on campus on Hempstead Turnpike in Hempstead. The authorities further reported that the four student athletes entered unlocked dorm rooms on six occasions and stole cash, a Sony laptop, headphones, three MacBook Pros, an Apple iPod, two Apple iPads and an Apple iPod Touch. It is still unclear whether the burglaries were conducted together or individually.

All four are scheduled for arraignment Friday in First District Court in Hempstead and its been reported that Frank Whelan, the lawyer for Stokes and Washington, plans enter not guilty pleas on behalf of his clients, adding that the evidence isn’t what it seems.

For a team that has already faced much hardship early on this season, considering the affects of Superstorm Sandy, these incidents couldn’t have come at a worse time for a program and university that had been taking large steps towards putting the storm behind them.

 

Jake Fischer is the CAA Correspondent for Rant Sports-NCAA Basketball. Make sure to follow Jake on Twitter @fischsportsline

 

 

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