Mr. Ed
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Daquein McNeil was charged Wednesday with two felony counts of assault in an alleged beating of his girlfriend.
McNeil, a 20-year-old sophomore guard on the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team, was arrested Monday and was being held at Hennepin County jail in Minneapolis.
The charges are third degree assault (substantial bodily harm), which is punishable by five years in prison and/or a $3,000-$10,000 fine; and domestic assault by strangulation, punishable with up to three years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
McNeil’s first appearance in Hennepin County court is set for Monday. Recommended bail is $75,000, and McNeil has been ordered to stay a reasonable distance away from the 28-year-old woman’s residence and have no contact with her.
County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the charges at an afternoon news conference, saying “this situation saddens and disappoints us,’’ noting McNeil’s difficult past in which both parents died within two months of one another, leading the youngster to be raised by an aunt.
“This is a young man who obviously has been through some very difficult times in his life, has seemed to have done quite well, has come to our university playing basketball and seems to have shaken some of the tragedies and the difficulties in his life,’’ Freeman said. “Having said that, the police report, the witnesses, the photographs of the wounds that his girlfriend has suffered are just not acceptable.’’
According to a Statement of Probable Cause, McNeil and the woman had been dating for about 10 months. McNeil came to her apartment on Monday to retrieve his Gophers backpack that he needed for the team’s trip to New York City.
He came into the woman’s bedroom carrying a cooking pan, according to the statement of probable cause. He smashed a mirror with the pan and began pulling out dresser drawers, then poured alcohol and cold water on her repeatedly. He subsequently tried to strangle her, saying “You ruined my life, now I am going to ruin yours,” the document said.
McNeil was ushered out of the apartment by the victim’s male roommate, Freeman said. The woman tried to take a shower to warm up, the statement continued, but McNeil returned, allegedly ripping off the shower curtain and whipping her with a belt.
Freeman said he does not know what prompted McNeil’s actions. He said there is no indication that McNeil has any similar violent incidents with the woman previously.
The woman was eventually able to leave the apartment and seek help. Police responded shortly before noon on Monday and reported she had “large welts and marks all over her body,” and “a reddish mark on her neck where the Defendant strangled her.’’
McNeil was apprehended by campus police and booked by Minneapolis police Monday afternoon.
University athletic director Norwood Teague announced Tuesday that McNeil had been suspended from basketball team activities pending an investigation into the alleged assault. After McNeil was charged Wednesday, Teague issued a statement, saying that McNeil “will remain suspended from all team-related activities as his case makes its way through the judicial process. This athletics department remains committed to its values of respect for others and respect for the greater community. We will not tolerate domestic assault from any of our staff or student-athletes.’’
University President Eric Kaler issued a separate statement saying he agreed with Teague’s “immediate action to suspend the player from the team, and we will review the facts of the case in relation to the student code of conduct.’’ Kaler said the university and himself “have zero tolerance for domestic abuse.’’
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