Two Ball State football players and one other student were arrested after a student was thrown out a first-story window at a house party on Neely Avenue, police reports said.
Freshman football players Darius Hill, 19, and Jonathan Belcher, 18, and freshman Travis Schrader, 19, were arrested on suspicion of residential entry, a class D felony, on Friday, according to police reports. Hill and Schrader were arrested on suspicion of illegal consumption of alcohol, a class C misdemeanor. Hill was also arrested on suspicion of battery with injury, a class A misdemeanor.
Class D felonies are punishable by more than one year jail time, class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to one year jail time and class C misdemeanors are punishable by up to 60 days jail time as well as up to $500 in fines, Sgt. Steve Cox of the Muncie Police Department said.
"These charges are subject to change, and they could be upgraded if the prosecutor feels it's necessary," Cox said.
Resident of the house, junior George Kirkhoff, 21, who was thrown through the window by Hill, had severe cuts on his arm that required 15 stitches, according to the police report. He suffered a broken nose and four chipped teeth as well, Kirkhoff's roommate senior Jonathan Roberts said.
Belcher, a defensive lineman, and Hill, a receiver, were redshirted this season, meaning they did not play and still have four years of eligibility to play.
"I have no comment except that I was the peacemaker, and I broke it all up," Belcher said. Hill and Schrader could not be reached for comment.
The fight began as a house party was winding down about 2 a.m. and Roberts was trying to clear the remaining guests from the house, according to the police report.
Roberts said that he found two men, one of whom was Hill, in his roommate's bedroom. Roberts called his roommate on his cell phone to confirm whether or not his roommate knew the men, and his roommate said he didn't know them. Roberts said he questioned Hill and the other man about why they were in his roommate's bedroom. When Roberts asked them to leave, he said they refused.
"After 30 minutes of trying to get them out of the house calmly, tempers started to rise," he said. "You can only be nice to someone for so long and not get anywhere without starting to get upset."
The fight broke out in the rear of the house, which is where Kirkhoff was thrown through a glass window by Hill, according to the police report.
"I'm not sure who threw the first punch," Roberts said. "However, all I saw was my roommate and Darius get locked up into an arm wrestling match."
Roberts said that he helped Kirkhoff into a car so he could be taken to the hospital, and when he returned to the house Hill had moved out into the front yard and was on his cell phone.
Shortly after a car pulled up and Belcher and Schrader got out, Roberts said.
"The first thing I could think of was to get in the house and lock the door," he said.
Hill, Belcher and Schrader then proceeded to use a snow shovel and rake to force open the front door, Roberts said so he called the police who arrived a few minutes later.
According to the police report, Hill, Belcher and Schrader were sitting in a car in front of the house when they were stopped and questioned.
"When I approached the car I asked if any of the subjects had been involved in the fighting, the driver advised that they had no idea what was going on," Officer Ron Miller said in the police report.
He also said in the report that Roberts took him through the house to show him the damage and where the fight had occurred.
"I observed that the front living room was in complete disarray with broken furniture and blood on the floor," Miller's report said.
The students are facing administrative hearings with the associate dean of students to determine the appropriate action to be taken, Heather Shupp, executive director of University Communications, said.
"It goes all the way from disciplinary probation up to and including expulsion depending on the kinds of things that people engage in," Shupp said. "The athletics area also does its own discipline for athletes who are involved in inappropriate behavior and that usually takes place within the team itself."
Head football coach Brady Hoke could not be reached for comment.
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