UT athlete told to serve 90 days in jail
1/29/2004A suspended University of Toledo football player was sentenced in Defiance Municipal Court yesterday to spend 90 days in jail after he violated his probation for underage drinking in less than a week s time.
Judge John Rohrs III ordered Brock Dodrill, 20, of 3228 Corey Rd., Sylvania Township, to serve his entire original jail sentence for underage drinking, which the judge had stayed during a hearing Jan. 19. At that time, Mr. Dodrill also was ordered to pay $100 on a related conviction of disorderly conduct.
The judge yesterday gave Mr. Dodrill two days jail credit and ordered that he be evaluated. Mr. Dodrill could be transferred elsewhere to serve his sentence, depending on the evaluation, court officials said.
Mr. Dodrill, who violated probation when he was arrested for driving under the influence in Ottawa Hills on Saturday, was taken to the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio, Stryker, to serve his jail time.
The two Defiance convictions stemmed from a Dec. 27 party in Defiance and a later egg-throwing incident. Mr. Dodrill and Garrit Nixon, 20, of Defiance, standouts together on the Defiance High School football team, ran from police who were responding to a complaint about people throwing eggs at cars on South Clinton Street.
Mr. Dodrill was caught, but Mr. Nixon, most recently a student at Bowling Green State University, ran into the nearby Auglaize River. Mr. Nixon is presumed to have drowned.
Searches for Mr. Nixon were conducted over a two-week period after the incident. Searches since then have been hampered by weather conditions, including the recent cold, as well as the ice-covered river, Chief Bill Wilkins said yesterday.
In addition to Mr. Dodrill, 13 others were charged with alcohol-related offenses in Defiance stemming from that Dec. 27 night. David Schmenk, 21, son of local Common Pleas Judge Joseph Schmenk, was charged with supplying the alcohol. He received 10 days jail time.
Mr. Dodrill, who appeared in court yesterday with his attorney, Joe O Neil, of Defiance, was arrested Saturday after he led Ottawa Hills police on a short chase about 1:30 a.m.
He was charged with driving under the influence, fleeing and eluding, underage drinking, and two traffic violations. The underage drinking charge was dismissed Monday in Toledo Municipal Court.
UT officials have said Mr. Dodrill, an inside linebacker who was on an athletic scholarship, has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities.