Posted on 02/18/2005 4:02:29 PM PST by ThreeYearLurker
A dispute over a $20 cab fare -- and an offer to pay it with marijuana -- leads to multiple charges against the players Friday, February 18, 2005
PAUL BUKER
What started as a dispute with a taxi driver over a $20 fare escalated into a scuffle in the wee hours Friday morning in Corvallis and led to the arrests of two Oregon State football players.
Jimtavis Walker, a transfer from Florida who was expected to be the Beavers' starting tailback in the fall, and Star Paddock, a walk-on deep snapper, were arrested at 5:10 a.m. at the apartment of two other OSU players, wide receivers Kevin Swanigan and Marcel Love.
Walker and Paddock were charged with robbery in the third degree, theft of services, harassment, assault in the fourth degree and attempted delivery of a controlled substance.
Seven OSU football players have been involved in incidents since Nov. 12, when four players engaged in a confrontation with an Oregon Army National Guardsman at the Headline Cafe: defensive end Joe Rudulph, wide receiver Anthony Wheat-Brown, offensive lineman Whitfield Usher and defensive tackle Ryan Rainwater.
Less than two weeks later, -backup center Brent Bridges was involved in an alleged assault, also at the Headline Cafe.
Capt. Jon Sassaman of the Corvallis Police Department said Walker and Paddock were taken to the Benton County Correctional Facility, where they were booked and released.
"Bottom line, these guys didn't pay for a taxi ride and it sort of got out of hand," Sassaman said.
According to the police report, the incident occurred at 2:52 a.m.
The taxi driver, an OSU student who declined to give his name because he said he feared for his safety, said Walker offered him marijuana as payment for the cab ride after the players initially tried to give him food as payment.
The cab driver said Walker had what appeared to be "a sandwich bag full of pot."
"It was obvious they had been drinking, and they were quite unruly," the driver said, adding that Walker threw a hamburger at him after the players left the cab. The driver said that after Walker berated him, Walker "lit up a joint."
The driver said Paddock pushed him and slammed the door of the cab on his knee. He said he had a bruised right shoulder and a scar on his knee from the incident. He said the players also took his clipboard, which contained approximately $52 in charge slips from previous fares, plus his itinerary and other information.
Sassaman said officers did not find marijuana on Walker or Paddock when they were arrested at an apartment complex at 900 S.E. Centerpointe Dr. in Corvallis. However, the officers did find "flakes or residue" around the toilet of the apartment.
OSU coach Mike Riley said both players would be held out of team activities pending further investigation.
"I'm disappointed that this has happened but I cannot comment further because of the ongoing investigation," he said in a statement released by the school Thursday.
According to the OSU release, both players also will be subject to an investigation by the university's student conduct committee.
The four players involved in the first incident remain suspended.
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