Report of Ohio State players' arrests released

6/7/2012
BLADE STAFF

SHAWNEE HILLS, Ohio -- Police released the incident report today from the misdemeanor arrests last weekend that led to the suspension of Ohio State football players Jack Mewhort and Jake Stoneburner.

The report alleges the two players along with Austin Barnard, an OSU student, urinated on the side of a building near Muirfield Village Golf Club about 2 a.m. Saturday before they knowingly fled from police into the woods. The three face charges of obstruction of official business and will be arraigned Monday in Delaware Municipal Court. Mewhort, a redshirt junior offensive lineman and St. John's Jesuit graduate, and Stoneburner, a senior tight end, were suspended from the football team until the case is resolved.

RELATED CONTENT: Incident reports and court summons from Shawnee Hills Police Department

The report states the three men continued to run after an officer shouted, “Police, stop,” and police chief Sean LeFever, who said he broke his thumb in pursuit, flipped on his cruiser lights. Accounts from the three officers involved stated Stoneburner and Barnard were stopped first in a parking lot, but Mewhort remained in a wooded area. One officer said Mewhort “emerged from the woods covered in mud” after police told him they planned to use a search dog.

“The suspect had his hands raised and was apologizing for running,” the report said.

Stoneburner and Barnard told police they ran because, “We thought they were our girlfriends, and we took off running in order to ditch them,” according to the report. The officer who drove Stoneburner and Barnard to the police station said she overheard one of the men say, “Yeah, I knew they were cops.”

Mewhort and Stoneburner are regarded as key leaders for the Buckeyes. Mewhort started at guard last season but has shifted adeptly to left tackle, where he is expected to anchor the offensive line. Stoneburner tied for the team lead in catches last season.

Mark Collins, the players' lawyer, said Sunday Mewhort and Stoneburner immediately told OSU coach Urban Meyer about the incident.