Early Thursday morning three UT football freshmen -- Janzen Jackson, Nu’Keese Richardson, and Mike Edwards -- were arrested for aggravated robbery. The alleged incident reportedly took place at the Pilot Foodmart on the Cumberland Avenue “Strip”. According to police reports it was around 2am when two men in black hoodies entered a car occupied by three men. One assailant held a gun at the driver’s head and demanded money. The victims claimed that they had nothing to offer but a cheeseburger, and a third man then urged the other two suspects to leave the scene. Janzen Jackson is reported to be the third man who entered the scene.
The suspects were seen leaving in a Toyota Prius which was stopped on Neyland Drive soon afterwards. The Prius was driven by a 22-year-old female. Police discovered the hoodies worn during the assault, a pellet pistol, and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. Police returned the three suspects to the scene of the crime to be identified by the victims.
Late this afternoon Jackson was released without posting bond and is proclaiming his innocence.
When questioned about the incident Coach Lane Kiffin, in his usual winning mode, emphasized the positive:
“We made it 11 months and 11 days without an incident,” Kiffin stated after Thursday’s practice.
“It’s life, it’s adversity,” he continued.
Kiffin clearly wanted to avoid the topic of the day: “We’re preparing for a big-time game and we went out and had a good practice. I thought our guys were very focused.” Kiffin did state that the players’ status for Saturday has not yet been determined pending further information.
Kiffin declined to comment further on the incident.
Click here for raw video taken at the scene of the crime
Click here for an interview with the victims
Comments
Armed robery? If this program is to maintain any credibility, all three must be dismissed.
Randy - I completely agree. It's looking more and more like Jackson will rejoin the team at some point. There are some reports that state Kiffin wanted to play Jackson against Ole Miss, but this was overruled by UT administration. I hope Kiffin takes the strong stance that he needs to take so as to prevent this from happening in the future, at least to some degree. I'm a little disappointed that this hasn't already happened.
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