Texas Football Player Charged with Armed Robbery Suspended from Team

Monday's Frat Boy News Daily Sports Page

University of Texas (compiled by Jeff McDonald, MySA.com)

Andre Jones, Texas freshman football player wanted in connection with an armed robbery, has been suspended from the team after surrendering to Austin authorities Friday, his 18th birthday.

Jones turned himself in at a UT campus police station at 10a.m., a UTPD spokesperson said.

He was booked into the Travis County jail less than an hour later and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Bond has been set at $40,000.

The charge, a first-degree felony that carries a sentence of five years to life in prison, stems from a July 27 home invasion during which Austin police say Jones and former teammate Robert Joseph robbed the occupants of an East Austin apartment at gunpoint.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, UT coach Mack Brown said Jones, a Parade All-America defensive tackle and a key member of Texas' most recent recruiting class, would be suspended indefinitely from all team functions.

Jones' arrest marks yet another black eye for the UT program this summer. He is the fourth player to be arrested since June 1, and the second to be either suspended or kicked off the team.

Joseph, who has been jailed since last Saturday and faces the same charge as Jones, was dismissed after a previous arrest in June.

In his statement, Brown characterized himself as "extremely disappointed" in the spate of offseason arrests, but stood by the reputation of his program.

"That is not reflective of the high standard of class, character and integrity we have established at Texas in recent years," Brown said. "It's a shame that these recent events have generated a great deal of negative attention."