The police department serving a north Texas university issued arrest warrants for three students in connection with possible organized criminal activity–two who stand accused of promoting prostitution and a third, solely on drug possession.
University of North Texas (UNT) police issued those arrests warrants for three students, all of whom currently attend the Denton-based campus. Officers also obtained a warrant for a fourth individual who is not affiliated with the school.
Although the details behind the charges have yet to be made public, university spokeswoman Deborah Leliaert said officers arrested one of the students on Monday–Rickey Lynn Brice, Jr., according to KDFW.
Denton County jail records show Brice was booked on a charge of possessing less than two ounces of marijuana. He bonded out later on $1,000 bail for the offense stemming back to case related activities on April 6. Brice, a former UNT basketball player last year, was arrested in the ongoing UNT Police Department (UNTPD) probe into allegations of organized criminal activity, promotion of prostitution, and drug possession, according to a statement released by the UNT president’s office on Tuesday, which Breitbart Texas obtained.
So far, police only arrested Brice and not the second student, also a former UNT basketball team player, or the third who was the team’s student manager last year. None of the students in question were affiliated with the university’s basketball program when campus police launched its investigation in March.
In the statement, UNT officials shared some details and the timeline of events that resulted in campus police issuing arrest warrants for the three students and other individual.
“On March 30th, the university received a report of an alleged sexual assault with a reference to alleged prostitution, and the UNTPD immediately began an aggressive investigation,” it stated, pointing out that university President Neal Smatresk, several key officials, and the UNT System Office of General Counsel knew about the ongoing police probe into the allegations. Then, on April 26, UNT Police Chief Ed Reynolds further briefed Smatresk. Two days later, officers obtained the four arrest warrants.
Presently, university officials believe these purported illicit activities may be an “isolated incident.” The statement noted: “Based on the information the university has received from law enforcement thus far, this appears to be an isolated incident involving individuals who are no longer associated with our men’s basketball program.”
Smatresk and Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker retained high-profile law firm Bond Schoeneck & King to conduct an independent review to make sure this is not a widespread athletics program problem indicative of “climate or cultural” issues. The review will not focus on the criminal aspects of the case since the UNT police lead the criminal investigation. University officials say they plan to report on the findings and any recommendations made by counsel upon the review’s completion.
“The alleged actions of these students are contrary to the values of our university and our Student Code of Conduct,” commented Smatresk in the prepared statement. “The university is cooperating fully with investigators and working diligently to obtain all facts pertaining to this issue,” he added, noting the university intends to be as transparent as possible with its community.
“It’s the responsibility of this university to promote a respectful and supportive environment for our community, and we will take all appropriate actions to ensure the safety of our community members.”
Officials say none of the students involved in this matter are currently allowed on campus.
Follow Merrill Hope, a member of the original Breitbart Texas team, on Twitter.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.