Eastern Michigan University football player under investigation after shot fired, drugs found
Police are seeking charges against junior defensive back Derrick Hunter, 21, and a 23-year-old male resident of the apartment, police said.
EMU athletics spokesman Jim Streeter was not aware of the incident, but said he would look into it. Streeter said first-year coach Ron English was out of the office.
A 57-year-old man, who lives in a nearby apartment, woke up about 8:45 p.m. after a “loud bang” to find a bullet and bullet hole in his wall, a police incident log says.
Maintenance workers let officers into Hunter’s apartment, where they found narcotics and other items in “plain view,” the log said.
As officers waited to obtain a search warrant, Hunter returned home, telling them that “a female that he met at a party was playing with a firearm,” according to the log.
Hunter said she “caused it to fire a single round into the bed and through the wall,” the log said.
Investigators executed a search warrant and seized drugs and drug paraphernalia from the apartment in the road’s 1900 block, according to the log.
It’s unclear what drugs were allegedly found. AnnArbor.com requested a copy of the police report from the department’s records division this morning, but was told it has not been completed.
Officers found the gun in the trunk of Hunter’s vehicle after he gave them consent to search it, the log said.
Hunter owned the gun and had proper paperwork for it, according to the log.
He was released as officers seek charges, the log said.
Hunter missed last season with an injury. He started 10 games for the Eagles in 2007, according to the university's athletics Web site.
Lee Higgins covers police and courts for AnnArbor.com. You can reach him by phone at (734) 623-2527 or email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Jeff Arnold of AnnArbor.com contributed to this report.
Comments
annarbor
Mon, Aug 3, 2009 : 7:30 p.m.
Police Department's usually don't have arrest photos on-hand and when they do, journalists should post them without having to worry about being coined as "racists". "Balance" is a hard thing to come by in police reporting. Thank you, Mr Higgins for attempting to balance this report.
tater
Mon, Aug 3, 2009 : 7:03 p.m.
budd wrote: "Geez, how about giving the guy the presumption of innocence that our Constitution requires. We dont know the whole story, only the police have been heard." My reply: Nobody has judged him as innocent or guilty yet, either in the article or the two posts before yours. English is instilling discipline in a program that has lacked it since Ron Cooper left. When a new coach needs to make a point, he always makes an example out of someone. Hunter may or may not be found guilty of a crime, but he violated one of coaching's most revered old saws: DO NOT PUT YOURSELF IN THE KIND OF POSITION THAT HUNTER DID. Drugs and a loaded gun were found in Hunter's apartment. He may not have committed a criminal act, but his ignorance in putting himself in that position could be considered "criminal." The rules around most programs are pretty basic: don't get caught around drugs, don't get so drunk that you get arrested, "nothing good happens when you are out after midnight," don't get into fights, etc. Allowing drugs and a loaded gun into his apartment definitely don't fit into any team's behavioral code. Whether Hunter is found innocent or guilty, he is definitely "guilty" of putting himself in a position that is contrary to the rules of the program, and English WILL act accordingly. Hunter will be his first opportunity to let both players and fans know that it won't be "business as usual" around the EMU football program anymore.
buddharjp
Mon, Aug 3, 2009 : 3:24 p.m.
Geez, how about giving the guy the presumption of innocence that our Constitution requires. We dont know the whole story, only the police have been heard.
Laura Bien
Mon, Aug 3, 2009 : 12:30 p.m.
Please do follow up and publish the police report when it is finished.
tater
Mon, Aug 3, 2009 : 12:12 p.m.
Sounds like he will be English's first "example."