Two members of the Central Michigan football, including a key returning piece of the Chippewas’ offensive puzzle, have found themselves dipping their toes in a bit of legal hot water recently.
According to the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun, wide receiver Andrew Flory was charged in June with two misdemeanor counts of second degree retail fraud and one count of marijuana possession while defensive back Ryan Oruche was charged with two misdemeanor counts of second degree retail fraud and one felony count of unarmed robbery in connection to the same incident.
Flory has been indefinitely suspended from the program while Oruche has left the team.
The Morning Sun notes that Flory could have the charges against him reduced -- he’d receive a five-day jail sentence -- if he testifies against Oruche. The incident that led to the players’ predicaments occurred at a Walmart early last month. From the paper:On June 7 trooper Mike Zeilinger was dispatched to Walmart for a retail fraud call. Cameron Hobbs, a Walmart employee, told Zeilinger that he had noticed Oruche pushing a shopping cart out of the store without paying for several items. When stopping him at the door, Oruche pushed Hobbs against the door jamb and ran out of the store. The cart contained $247 worth of DVDs, food and snacks.
Zeilinger then interviewed Oruche, who was found under some trees between Kohl’s and Copper Beech apartments, and Oruche told him that both he and Flory had walked out of the store with shopping carts full of items that they had not paid for and placed the items into the trunk of Flory’s car. Oruche then went back into the store and placed more items into a cart and attempted to walk out when they were stopped by Hobbs.
Flory said he did not steal anything from the store.
According to video surveillance both were seen leaving the store with one shopping cart and placing $500 worth of items into Flory’s trunk, the affidavit said.
The video then shows Oruche walking out of the store with another shopping cart and Hobbs stopping him and Oruche pushing Hobbs out of the way, the affidavit said.
The school has yet to publicly address the situation or comment on what if any punitive measures Flory may be facing moving forward. The loss of Flory for any portion of the 2014 season would be a significant blow for the Chips.
Last season, Flory was second on the team with 32 receptions for 384 yards. Oruche, on the other hand, played in just three games in 2013.