COLUMBUS, GA -- Three high school football players, including one of the top prospects in the state, were arrested and charged with stealing electronics from the University of Georgia football locker room.
WTVM reports that the University of Georgia Police Department charged the teens, who were football players at Carver High School in Columbus, Ga., with stealing several iPhones and iPods from the UGA football locker room. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that the items were worth $1,970 and were taken during an open-house event on the UGA campus on April 7.
Marquise Hawkins, who was charged with two counts of theft by taking, Deion Bonner, who was charged with one count of theft by taking and a 16-year-old, who was charged with three counts of theft by taking, were all issued warrants.
Bonner is a 5-11, 180 defensive back who was included in the Atlanta Journal Constitution' "Tentative Top 10" prospects for next season. The AJC's online blog reports that Marquise Hawkins, a running back, is not a college football prospect but is the twin brother of Carver-Columbus quarterback Marqui Hawkins, who is a 2013 recruiting prospect.
Carver Coach Dell McGee told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer that the three players will be suspended for at least the first five games of the upcoming season. They could face further disciplinary action from the school.
Columbus Police assisted the Athens Police Department in the investigation, as the boys' homes were searched for the stolen items, and UGA police said some of the iPods have been recovered.