Freshman: I took the blame, not the shirts
Williams faces shoplifting charge
Friday, December 12, 2008 3:16 AM
By
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
SHARI LEWIS | DISPATCH
Nathan Williams: "I took the blame for somebody; I didn't do anything."
Ohio State freshman defensive end Nathan Williams said his arrest Wednesday on a shoplifting charge is a case of trying to protect a friend. Williams, 19, was arrested by Beavercreek police and charged with shoplifting three shirts valued at $80 from the Macy's department store in the Mall at Fairfield Commons in suburban Dayton.
"I took the blame for somebody; I didn't do anything," Williams said last night.
He said he was with a friend, and as they were walking out of the store, the alarm went off. His friend told him he had the three shirts, and Williams agreed to take the shirts -- and the blame.
"If he got in trouble for this, he would be in jail," Williams said, explaining that his friend has been in legal trouble previously. "So I took his back."
Williams didn't name the friend.
Cont...
Williams said he had not yet told his coaches about the incident.
"I didn't expect any of this," he said. "I thought I'd just get a ticket and pay a fine. I'm at a loss for words."