Cleveland Browns rookie arrested for attempted murder
Less than a month after signing with the Cleveland Browns, rookie Ausar Walcott was arrested for attempted murder Tuesday.
The 23-year-old linebacker punched a man in the head outside of The Palace Gentlemen’s Club about 3 a.m. on Sunday, Passaic, N.J., police said.
Walcott was charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree aggravated assault and third-degree endangerment of an injured victim, the police department said. He turned himself into police Tuesday morning, and his bail is set at $500,000.
The victim, 24-year-old Derrick Jones, was taken to Harlem Hospital Center in Manhattan shortly following the assault where he remained in critical condition as of Tuesday evening.
The Browns posted a brief statement on Tuesday afternoon saying they were aware of the situation but would not comment on a “pending legal matter.”
Walcott played linebacker and defensive end at the University of Virginia from 2009 to 2012. He was one of the top safety prospects in the country coming out of high school and was also a successful sprinter and long jumper for the track team. In his time at Virginia, he was suspended in 2011 for he and two teammates were arrested after an altercation at James Madison University. The charges against him were dismissed and he was allowed back on the team.
The news came quietly the evening before the announcement of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez’s arrest for his involvement in a murder case.
