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4 Hofstra basketball players arrested on burglary charges; may have robbed coach's house: sources
By SELIM ALGAR, ZACH BRAZILLER and DAN MANGAN
Last Updated: 3:33 PM, November 30, 2012
View media item 152091
Hofstra University basketball players Dallas Anglin, Jimmy Hall, Shaquille Stokes and Kentrell Washington have been arrested in a string of campus break-ins. The crew even robbed their own coach's house, cops said.
Four Hofstra University hoops players today were charged with burglary for a slew of brazen thefts from fellow students' dorm rooms -- and cops suspect their own head coach was among the victims, authorities and sources said.
The trio of freshmen and one sophomore systematically stole more than an estimated $20,000 worth of Apple products such as iPads, iPods and laptops from six dorm rooms at the Long Island university -- then sold the boosted gear to other students, pawn shops and over the Internet, Nassau County cops said.
The crooked quartet -- who used their big-man-on-campus status to gain access to various dorms on the Hempstead campus -- then used the proceeds of sales to live it up on- and off-campus, police said.
Around the time those thefts began, third-year head coach Mo Cassara had an iPad and iPhone, along with cash and credit cards stolen, cops said. His four players haven't been charged for that rip-off -- but authorities suspect Cassara fell victim to the the b-ball burglary ring, sources said.
The ring was smashed after a female Hofstra student who had lost her iPad to a theft used the device's locator application to find out that the iPad had become registered to one of the players. She then reported that to authorities, who were able to use key-card records to connect the players to visits to dorms where the burglaries occured from early October until early November.
The four players charged included Shaquille Stokes, 20, of Harlem, who earlier this month was granted a hardship transfer waiver from Hawaii, allowing him to begin playing for Hofstra this year without sitting out a year as normally required of transfers. The sophomore Stokes, who has since started six our of seven games for 3-and-4 Hofstra, received that waiver because he wanted to be closer to his family and to an ailing grandmother.
Stokes, a star when he played at Lincoln HS, was slapped with the most serious set of charges -- five counts of felony burglary.
Also charged were 18-year-old freshmen Jimmy Hall of Brooklyn -- the team's second-leading scorer -- Montclair, NJ, resident Dallas Anglin and Kentrell Washington of Las Vegas.
Hall was charged with four counts of burglary, Washington was charged with two counts of the same crime, and Anglin was charged with a single count of both burglary and tampering with evidence.
None of the defendants has prior criminal charges, although Hall was booted off the national powerhouse basketball team of St. Anthony HS in Jersey City, NJ last year because of undisclosed conduct violations.
Stokes appeared at his arraignment in Nassau County Court wearing an Adidas shirt and sweatpants as he was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 cash bail on five counts of felony burglary.
Nassau County prosecutor Leemor Peled said Stokes on one date went into two separate dorm rooms and stole an iPad and a computer, and on three other dates went into three rooms and also took iPads.
"He has no criminal involvement whatsoever before this incident. He has every reason to and will return," said his lawyer Frank Whelan, who cited Stokes' community ties and his status as a scholarship athlete in an unsuccessful bid to get Stokes released on his own recognizance.
But in rejecting that request, Judge Eric Bjorneby noted, "There are statements to the police where the defendant admitted that he participated in some of these crimes."
The prosecutor said Washington is accused of taking an iPod Touch and a MacBook Pro from a Hofstra dorm room on Oct. 4 with Stokes and Hall.
"He will fight these charges because this will have an effect on his scholarship status," said Whelan, who also represented Washington at arraignment.
Washington was ordered held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail, Hall was held on $10,000 bail and Anglin on $2,000 bail. All defendants except for Anglin -- who is expected to post bail today -- remained in jail.
St. Anthony HS's legendary hoops coach Bob Hurley Sr., who had suspended Hall twice last year, said "I feel very bad for Mrs. Hall, who I think has tried to do the right things for her son, and I feel very bad for Mo Cassara and the Hofstra basketball program for giivng him a chance and this turning out to be where it is right now."
"I was forced last year because of failure to adhere to rules at school to dismiss from the team two-thirds through the season," Hurley noted.
"Anytime something like this happens, [there's] no explanation for something like that, one kid or four kids. It's mystifying that things like this are happening or happened."
So far, about $10,000 worth of stolen items have been recovered, and authorities expect to recover items worth a similar amount, they said.
Hofstra has suspended all four players from basketball team, classes, residence halls and facilities, pending the outcome of the case.
Hofstra's vice president of university relations Melissa Connolly said the school's public safety department worked with Nassau County police on the probe.
Last month, Hofstra suspended players Taran Buie and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel for violating team rules. The suspensions were for two preseason events and two regular-season games. Hofstra cited student privacy laws in providing no further information in that case.
By SELIM ALGAR, ZACH BRAZILLER and DAN MANGAN
Last Updated: 3:33 PM, November 30, 2012
View media item 152091
Hofstra University basketball players Dallas Anglin, Jimmy Hall, Shaquille Stokes and Kentrell Washington have been arrested in a string of campus break-ins. The crew even robbed their own coach's house, cops said.
Four Hofstra University hoops players today were charged with burglary for a slew of brazen thefts from fellow students' dorm rooms -- and cops suspect their own head coach was among the victims, authorities and sources said.
The trio of freshmen and one sophomore systematically stole more than an estimated $20,000 worth of Apple products such as iPads, iPods and laptops from six dorm rooms at the Long Island university -- then sold the boosted gear to other students, pawn shops and over the Internet, Nassau County cops said.
The crooked quartet -- who used their big-man-on-campus status to gain access to various dorms on the Hempstead campus -- then used the proceeds of sales to live it up on- and off-campus, police said.
Around the time those thefts began, third-year head coach Mo Cassara had an iPad and iPhone, along with cash and credit cards stolen, cops said. His four players haven't been charged for that rip-off -- but authorities suspect Cassara fell victim to the the b-ball burglary ring, sources said.
The ring was smashed after a female Hofstra student who had lost her iPad to a theft used the device's locator application to find out that the iPad had become registered to one of the players. She then reported that to authorities, who were able to use key-card records to connect the players to visits to dorms where the burglaries occured from early October until early November.
The four players charged included Shaquille Stokes, 20, of Harlem, who earlier this month was granted a hardship transfer waiver from Hawaii, allowing him to begin playing for Hofstra this year without sitting out a year as normally required of transfers. The sophomore Stokes, who has since started six our of seven games for 3-and-4 Hofstra, received that waiver because he wanted to be closer to his family and to an ailing grandmother.
Stokes, a star when he played at Lincoln HS, was slapped with the most serious set of charges -- five counts of felony burglary.
Also charged were 18-year-old freshmen Jimmy Hall of Brooklyn -- the team's second-leading scorer -- Montclair, NJ, resident Dallas Anglin and Kentrell Washington of Las Vegas.
Hall was charged with four counts of burglary, Washington was charged with two counts of the same crime, and Anglin was charged with a single count of both burglary and tampering with evidence.
None of the defendants has prior criminal charges, although Hall was booted off the national powerhouse basketball team of St. Anthony HS in Jersey City, NJ last year because of undisclosed conduct violations.
Stokes appeared at his arraignment in Nassau County Court wearing an Adidas shirt and sweatpants as he was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 cash bail on five counts of felony burglary.
Nassau County prosecutor Leemor Peled said Stokes on one date went into two separate dorm rooms and stole an iPad and a computer, and on three other dates went into three rooms and also took iPads.
"He has no criminal involvement whatsoever before this incident. He has every reason to and will return," said his lawyer Frank Whelan, who cited Stokes' community ties and his status as a scholarship athlete in an unsuccessful bid to get Stokes released on his own recognizance.
But in rejecting that request, Judge Eric Bjorneby noted, "There are statements to the police where the defendant admitted that he participated in some of these crimes."
The prosecutor said Washington is accused of taking an iPod Touch and a MacBook Pro from a Hofstra dorm room on Oct. 4 with Stokes and Hall.
"He will fight these charges because this will have an effect on his scholarship status," said Whelan, who also represented Washington at arraignment.
Washington was ordered held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail, Hall was held on $10,000 bail and Anglin on $2,000 bail. All defendants except for Anglin -- who is expected to post bail today -- remained in jail.
St. Anthony HS's legendary hoops coach Bob Hurley Sr., who had suspended Hall twice last year, said "I feel very bad for Mrs. Hall, who I think has tried to do the right things for her son, and I feel very bad for Mo Cassara and the Hofstra basketball program for giivng him a chance and this turning out to be where it is right now."
"I was forced last year because of failure to adhere to rules at school to dismiss from the team two-thirds through the season," Hurley noted.
"Anytime something like this happens, [there's] no explanation for something like that, one kid or four kids. It's mystifying that things like this are happening or happened."
So far, about $10,000 worth of stolen items have been recovered, and authorities expect to recover items worth a similar amount, they said.
Hofstra has suspended all four players from basketball team, classes, residence halls and facilities, pending the outcome of the case.
Hofstra's vice president of university relations Melissa Connolly said the school's public safety department worked with Nassau County police on the probe.
Last month, Hofstra suspended players Taran Buie and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel for violating team rules. The suspensions were for two preseason events and two regular-season games. Hofstra cited student privacy laws in providing no further information in that case.
