Two Bradley men’s basketball players received technical fouls, and a third could face discipline from the team after an incident early Thursday morning.
Junior guard Warren Jones was arrested by Peoria Police Department (PPD) on the charges of criminal trespass to land and obstructing identification at 2:50 a.m. Jan. 29 in front of Big Al’s, a strip club in downtown Peoria.
Fellow guard Ka’Darryl Bell was ticketed for underage drinking yesterday as well. He and Jones were included in a group of people who were asked to leave the bar after being unruly.
Jones was taken to Peoria County Jail but was released a few hours later after posting bond.
A third player, junior Omari Grier, may face discipline from within the team. It was his ID Jones was accused of using to enter the bar. Grier was reportedly not with Jones or Bell when the incident occurred.
The men’s basketball head coach, Geno Ford, made an official statement with regard to his players’ actions.
“I would like to apologize to the Bradley community for last night’s incident involving members of our basketball team,” Ford stated. “These student-athletes have not represented Bradley University and our community appropriately and their actions, especially immediately following a poor performance on the court, are unacceptable. We continue to gather all of the pertinent information, and we will follow all of our disciplinary procedures. Simultaneously, I will closely examine all of the circumstances that would allow for such poor decision-making by the young men under my supervision.”
According to Illinois state law, anyone convicted of possessing or using a fake ID can face consequences such as: 50 hours of community service or a mandatory minimum fine of $500, a one-year driving privileges suspension and up to one to three years in prison.
Also arrested by the PPD recently was track and field senior Chase Coffey, charged with “theft/stolen goods less than $500”.
The official police report cited an arrest at 11:15 p.m. Jan. 23 after Coffey and non-student Lauren Matthews stole a red traffic sign valued at $200. Coffey was released the same day.
Additional charges filed against Coffey on Jan. 26 included illegal stopping/standing/parking and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
