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HomeIsland SportsLely High School

Former Lely standout faces charges in S. Carolina

■ Sam Baptiste was among the four football players charged with armed robbery and kidnapping Tuesday for their alleged involvement in an incident that began on the Charleston Southern University campus. Baptiste, who was sitting out this season, is listed as a former player.

Former Lely High School football player Sam Baptiste was among four Charleston Southern University football players arrested in North Charleston, S.C., on Monday night, according to the Associated Press.

The four were charged with armed robbery and kidnapping Tuesday for their alleged involvement in an incident that began on campus. Only one of the four, T.J. Latimore, is an active player on the team. Baptiste, who was sitting out this season, is listed as a former player.

Two suspects approached a man and woman waiting in a car on campus around 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 11, North Charleston Police spokesman Spencer Pryor said. The suspects forced the man to drive to a nearby apartment, robbed him of $30 at gunpoint and ran away, he said.

Charleston Southern has suspended Baptiste and the other three men, pending the outcome, the school’s director of public relations said in a statement.

“We are disappointed to hear of the charges brought against these young men,’’ head football coach Jay Mills said in a statement issued by the school. “Our athletics program at CSU continues its commitment to the academic, athletic, spiritual and character development of our student athletes.”

Baptiste; Latimore, a 19-year-old running back from Apple Heights, Ohio; and former players Zachery Hillery, 20, of Sanford; and Ronald Baldner, 19, of Homosassa, were all charged with armed robbery and kidnapping. It wasn’t immediately clear if they had attorneys.

The police wouldn’t say which two suspects approached the car.

Latimore has played in all 11 games this season, rushing for 201 yards on 52 carries.

According to the Charleston (S.C.) Post-Courier, bail for Baptiste was set at $400,000, apparently because he has an unspecified criminal history in Florida. Bail for the other three was set at $200,000 apiece.

According to the Post-Courier:

On Nov. 11, two men approached a car with an 18-year-old female student and a male acquaintance, also 18, sitting inside. The two men got in the backseat, and pointed a gun at the male’s head and told him to drive. After getting to an apartment complex, the men took the couple’s money, around $30, and fled.

Baptiste was a standout defensive back at Lely. Following his senior year in 2006, Baptiste verbally committed to UNLV after receiving a scholarship offer. But just before National Signing Day in February 2007, the school withdrew the scholarship offer. Baptiste told the Daily News that the school had said it was to “protect themselves for academic reasons.’’

Baptiste recorded 36 tackles, intercepted six passes and caught 18 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns as a senior.

Two days after UNLV pulled its scholarship, Baptiste announced he was going to Erie (N.Y.) Community College. He never played football at the school, and ended up at Charleston Southern this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this article.

Comments

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Another coddled punk-athelete. Let him rot in jail.

#1 Posted by smiley on November 22, 2008 at 7:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)



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