One member of Louisiana Tech’s most recent recruiting has a whole hell of a lot more to worry about than the usual transition from high school to college football.
According to the Pine Bluff (Ark.) Commercial, David Beasley was one of four men arrested early Saturday morning after another male was allegedly shot during the course of a robbery outside of a convenience store. “Beasley, 18, is allegedly the person who shot the 20-year-old victim, Police Detective Mike Sweeney said in a probable cause affidavit that was presented in district court Monday,” the Commercial wrote. The alleged victim picked Beasley out of a photo lineup and identified him as the shooter.
Beasley has been charged with first-degree battery and aggravated robbery, both of which are felonies.
From the newspaper’s report as to the details surrounding the alleged robbery:According to the affidavit, the alleged victim told police he had met an acquaintance behind a store at University Drive and Collegiate Drive “to smoke a blunt” (a cigar with marijuana in it), and once he got there, the driver and passenger in another car, a black Dodge, tried to rob him.
The alleged victim told police that the driver of the car pulled a gun on him and tried to force him into the vehicle. He said they took his money and a backpack before he was able to break away and the driver of the car shot him.
Sweeney said in the affidavit that the alleged victim also told police he could hear a passenger in the back seat yelling “get him, don’t let him get away” before the alleged victim took off running and was shot, then collapsed in the middle of the street.
Beasley remains jailed on a $100,000 bond. The alleged victim remains hospitalized, with ArkansasOnline.com reporting this morning that he is in critical condition.
A three-star member of Tech’s 2016 recruiting class, Beasley, a wide receiver and defensive back, was rated as the No. 18 player at any position in the state of Arkansas.
“We are aware of the situation and allegations revolving around one of our spring signees, and we are looking into the matter further,” a university spokesman said in a statement.
“What I’m concerned with right now is that it’s one of my boys, and [I’m] trying to help him get through this tough time right now that he has managed to get into,” Beasley’s high school football coach, Bobby Bolding, told ArkansasOnline.com. “All I can do is just be there for him and be somebody that he can talk to. That’s about it.
“What’s happened has happened, and it’s very regretful. I don’t know his involvement or details of any of the stuff. All I know is it’s like having a child, and [when] one of your children is in trouble, you’re not condoning it, what they did, but you want to be there to help them.”