DDN
Police: Former OSU star Clarett arrested with 4 guns in SUV
Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Maurice Clarett was charged with carrying a concealed weapon after a highway chase early Wednesday that ended with police using Mace on the former Ohio State running back and finding four loaded guns in his sport utility vehicle, police said.
Officers used Mace to subdue Clarett after a stun gun was ineffective because the former Fiesta Bowl star was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, Sgt. Michael Woods said.
"It took several officers to get him handcuffed," Woods said. "Even after he was placed in the paddy wagon, he was still kicking at the doors and being a problem for the officers."
The complaint police filed when they charged him with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit said he had a 9 mm handgun under his legs in the driver's seat of an SUV.
Police also charged him with failing to maintain a continuous lane, which they said was for Clarett weaving in and out of lanes on a road before he entered the highway. More charges are possible, Woods said.
Clarett, 22, did not speak to police who tried to interview him at the station before he was moved to the Franklin County Jail.
Wearing tan jail-issue clothes, he talked on the telephone in the booking area, separated from reporters by a window. He was to be held at the jail at least until an arraignment Thursday morning, unless his attorneys work out an agreement for his release, police said.
Clarett made an illegal U-turn on the city's east side and failed to stop when officers, in a cruiser with lights flashing, tried to pull him over, Woods said.
Police said they pursued Clarett onto the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70, one of the city's main freeways, when he darted across the median and began heading west. Clarett drove over a spike strip that was placed on the highway, flattening the driver's side tires of the SUV, Woods said. A police helicopter in the area helped track the vehicle.
Clarett exited the highway and pulled into a restaurant parking lot about 10 minutes after police say they saw him make the U-turn. Officers removed him from the SUV after he failed to obey numerous orders to exit the vehicle, Woods said.
After Clarett was placed in a police van, officers discovered a loaded assault rifle on the passenger seat and three handguns in the front of the car, including one in a holster in a backpack on the passenger-side floor, Woods said.
"We don't have any idea why he had them or what, if anything, he was going to do with them," Woods said. Police don't know where Clarett got the guns or where he was headed or coming from in the SUV. Federal authorities plan to trace the guns' ownership.
A half-full bottle of vodka was found in the SUV, but no breath test was administered because police had no indication that Clarett was intoxicated, Woods said.
Police also found a compact disc of children's songs recorded by Ohio prison inmates that the state distributed last month to prisoners and their families.
Clarett is currently awaiting trial on two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon in a separate case. Authorities said he was identified by witnesses as the person who flashed a gun and robbed two people of a cell phone in an alley behind the Opium Lounge in Columbus in the early hours of Jan. 1.
One of the Clarett's attorneys in that case, Nick Mango, said he was going to the jail to see Clarett to "make sure he's OK emotionally and mentally." Clarett has not asked Mango to represent him on the new charges.
"I'm shocked as everyone else is about the allegation," Mango said. "Obviously, he's a young man with a lot of weight on his shoulders."
The home address Clarett gave police was his mother's house in Youngstown. A message seeking comment was left at the home.
Clarett scored the winning touchdown in the second overtime of the Fiesta Bowl against Miami to lead Ohio State to the 2002 national championship, the school's first since 1968. But that was the last game the freshman played for Ohio State.
He sat out the 2003 season after being charged with misdemeanor falsification on a police report, then dropped out of school. He sued to be included in the 2004 NFL draft and lost in court.
A surprise third-round pick in the 2005 draft, he was cut by the Denver Broncos during the preseason.
Clarett plans to play for the Mahoning Valley Hitmen, one of five teams in the Eastern Indoor Football League. The team, based in Clarett's hometown of Youngstown, is to begin play in January.
Hitmen coach and owner Jim Terry said that there was no indication that anything was wrong when he spoke with Clarett by cell phone early Wednesday morning about the team's upcoming tryouts. The call was dropped around 1 a.m. and Terry missed Clarett's second call about an hour and a half later, which would have been near the time when police say they saw Clarett make a U-turn.
The arrest will not affect Clarett's status with the team, Terry said.
"We gave him a chance and now we'll wait to see what happens," he said. "I've seen far worse situations than this."
Clarett has not signed a contract with the team yet, pending a fire marshal's inspection of the team's home field. Clarett's proposed contract includes attendance incentives that cannot be finalized until the fire marshal determines the capacity of the team's arena.
Associated Press reporter JoAnne Viviano contributed to this story.
DDN
atest troubles not a surprise, just sad
By Sean McClelland
Staff Writer
In the movie
A Bronx Tale, Robert DeNiro tells his son, "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent."
Whenever Maurice Clarett pops up in the news lately, that's what goes through my mind.
So, which part of the latest Clarett incident surprises you?
That he was pursued by the cops in his SUV?
That he was traveling with four loaded guns and some Vodka?
That efforts to subdue him with a stun gun failed because he was wearing a bullet-proof vest?
That mace was required?
Granted, the bullet-proof vest is a new twist, but Clarett's troubles are blurring now to the point where you can't separate them anymore. He's robbing this guy, fleeing from that guy. Guns are involved. He's become a walking miniseries.
And in the tradition of Dwight Gooden, Mike Tyson, Darryl Strawberry and other such miscreants, it would seem the only thing left to complete this tragic fall from grace is a lengthy stint behind bars.
Such an instinctive football player when leading Ohio State to the national championship, Clarett has become the poster child for making the wrong choice again and again.
It's a shame because, in the long run, Clarett did more good than harm at OSU in his brief stay.
Don't kid yourself. Without him, the gap today between national titles would be 38 years and counting.
The images live in your mind. Of Clarett scoring the winning TD against Miami in the championship game.
Of Clarett stealing the ball from safety Sean Taylor, ripping it from his grasp at a critical moment.
But they fade with each passing arrest, and in light of whatever real or imagined fear led him to add Kevlar to his wardrobe, maybe the only real surprise today is that Maurice Clarett is still alive.
PHOTOS
DDN
Latest trouble means Clarett could spend trial in jail cell
Associated Press
COLUMBUS — The legal morass that has ensnared Maurice Clarett since he was Ohio State's star running back mounted Wednesday when police found four loaded guns in his sport utility vehicle and couldn't subdue him with a stun gun because he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.
What kind of mess is Clarett in?
Clarett hid one semiautomatic handgun under his legs in the driver's seat and had an AK-47-type assault rifle on the passenger seat, police said. They said they found two other semiautomatic handguns, including one in a holster in a backpack.
"We don't have any idea why he had them or what, if anything, he was going to do with them," Columbus police Sgt. Michael Woods said. "But if you've got four guns in your car, you're up to no good."
Police said the 6-foot, 245-pound Clarett refused to get out of the SUV when he pulled into a restaurant parking lot after a highway chase. It took several officers to handcuff him, and he kicked the doors of a transport vehicle as he was being taken to city police headquarters, Woods said.
An open bottle of vodka was found in the SUV, but no breath test was given because there was no indication Clarett was intoxicated, Woods said.
A tough year
Earlier this year, he was charged with robbery and carrying a concealed weapon after authorities say he was identified by witnesses as the person who flashed a gun and robbed two people in an alley behind a Columbus lounge early on New Year's morning.
The 22-year-old Clarett became a father when his girlfriend gave birth to a premature daughter last month. When a judge scolded Clarett last week for being late for a hearing on the robbery charges, his attorney said Clarett was taking care of the baby.
Clarett vs. Franklin County
Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Tim Mitchell asked a judge Wednesday to keep Clarett in jail and revoke his bond on the robbery charges, given that Clarett was arrested close to the home of Tywona Douglas, one of the people who identified him in the alley.
Clarett's attorney, Nick Mango, said it was "probably unlikely" that Clarett would be able to post the higher bond, meaning he would stay in jail for the duration of a trial that starts Monday.
Sympathy for Clarett
News of his arrest troubled former Ohio State teammate Tyler Everett, who's been friends with Clarett since both were 12. Everett, a rookie safety in camp with the Broncos, said that didn't sound like the Clarett he knows.
"For him to carry guns and do stuff like that, there has to be more to the story," Everett said. "He's a good guy who's had bad guidance, and listens sometimes to the wrong people."
ABJ
CHARGES AGAINST CLARETT
Police have charged Maurice Clarett with:
• Carrying a concealed weapon.
• Weaving in and out of lanes and making an illegal U-turn on a freeway.
Police allege Clarett:
• Was wearing a bullet-resistant vest.
• Had a 9 mm handgun under his legs in the driver's seat of an SUV.
• Had three other loaded weapons in the SUV.
• Made an illegal U-turn on a Columbus freeway and failed to stop for officers.
• Ignored numerous orders to exit the vehicle.
Clarett already is awaiting trial on:
• Two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon in a separate case.
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