Here is all I know as of now..
By Michael Wallace
mwallace@clarionledger.com
OXFORD — University of Mississippi football player Jamal Pittman acted in self-defense when he aimed a gun at a group of people in a car and then allegedly pointed it toward a Memphis police officer, his attorney said Tuesday.
Pittman is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in Shelby County Criminal Court at 9 a.m. today. He faces one count of felony reckless endangerment and misdemeanor resisting arrest stemming from his role in an altercation late Saturday night a few blocks from the Beale Street entertainment district in downtown Memphis.
Pittman, 21, had not posted a $50,000 bond and was still in Shelby County Jail late Tuesday afternoon.
Pittman and teammate Ken Bournes, 22, were arrested after an undercover Memphis police office spotted the two men yelling and aiming guns at another group speeding away in a dark Dodge car, according to a police report.
The arrest report says Pittman then pointed a loaded Smith & Wesson handgun at the undercover officer, who told the players to drop their guns.
Pittman, who continued to hold the weapon despite the officer's demand, was detained after another officer sprayed him with pepper spray and forced him to the ground, according to the report.
In a statement he gave to police, Pittman denied pointing the gun at the undercover officer. Bournes, who was charged with a misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of a weapon, was released after posting a $1,000 bond.
Both players were suspended indefinitely from the team Monday by Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe.
Matt Eggleston, Pittman's attorney from the Memphis law firm of Glanker Brown, PLLC, said Pittman went for his gun only after he was threatened by passengers who later fled in the other vehicle.
No other arrests were made.
"After interviewing all of the witnesses, we are confident that after full adjudication of the matter it will be shown that Mr. Pittman was acting in self defense," Eggleston said in a statement. "His actions were based on the threat of a third party."
Memphis police confiscated two guns from the scene: a loaded 9-mm with a laser scope and a Luger handgun, both valued at $900.
Eggleston declined comment when asked if the guns were owned by Pittman or Bournes.
Pittman could face up to two years in jail if convicted of reckless endangerment, which is defined as conduct which places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon.
Memphis Police Department spokesman Rhonda Lee said Tuesday there were no new developments in the case.
Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone questioned why two athletes would carry handguns.
"If you're not in the woods hunting something, you don't need to be walking around with weapons," Boone said. "The tragedy in this is young men making bad decisions."
Bournes did not return telephone messages left for him in Oxford or at his parents' home in Monticello. Attempts to reach Pittman's parents in Columbia were also unsuccessful.
The suspensions could leave Ole Miss without two key players when the team reports Aug. 8 for preseason practice. Ole Miss opens the season Sept. 4 at home against Memphis. Bournes, a senior linebacker and projected starter, played in all 13 games last season and is the team's top returning pass rusher. Pittman, a sophomore tailback, was set to return from a second knee surgery in as many years.
As Pittman faces the court hearing today, Ole Miss officials will review how the university handles athletes in trouble with the law.
Boone said he has spoken with the university's legal staff about developing a policy that could dish out automatic suspensions or other penalties to athletes charged with a felony.
Several major-college programs have similar policies in place. At Florida State, for example, athletes who are charged with a felony are withheld from game action until the legal matter is resolved.
Boone said school officials had already discussed standardized punitive guidelines before Pittman and Bournes were arrested.
The incident in Memphis is the latest in a set of off-the-field problems that have hit the program in the past two years.
Ole Miss fullback Rick Razzano was arrested in April and is facing four charges, including felony aggravated assault, for his role in a brawl outside an Oxford bar. Razzano, who was not suspended from the team, could end up on trial in the middle of the season.
Rebels' signee Jamarca Sanford must finish a pretrial intervention program in Oxford this summer to avoid prosecution in an auto burglary on campus last fall.
Starting cornerback Travis Johnson was suspended for two games and offensive lineman Antonio Sanders for four last season for their roles in the unauthorized use of a university long distance code.
Two seasons ago, Ole Miss basketball player Emmanuel Wade finished his senior season on the court while under indictment for felony assault of a police officer.
"We want to take each situation and weigh it on its own merit," Boone said."(Felony charges) are very serious, there's no question about it. But they also don't necessarily indicate that there's guilt. There's a lot of folks indicted who are found innocent. So we want to be very careful when things pop up. It seemed like for a long time they haven't been, and now they have."
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