2 Buffaloes Football Players Arrested In Theft Case
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Two Colorado Buffaloes football players are accused of stealing a prescription drug, laptop and other electronics from a dorm room.
Nu'umoto 'N.J.' Falo and Donald 'Dino' Gordon appeared in court Thursday afternoon after being arrested Wednesday night. Both Falo and Gordon face charges of second-degree burglary, theft, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and second-degree trespassing.
Falo is a linebacker in his sophomore year and Gordon is a freshman running back. The team has suspended both players. Falo and Gordon are roommates.
The burglary allegedly happened April 12 in a dorm room at Willard Hall. The residents alerted the CU-Boulder Police Department when they returned to their room and noticed a few things missing and out of place.
They told police a PS4, PS4 controller, at least five PS4 video games and a silver MacBook Pro were missing. Police later compiled a list of all the stolen items from the room, which also included Beats by Dre headphones, a Bose iPod dock, a knife, a cup of loose change and a bottle of cough syrup that contained cocaine.
According to arrest documents, the teammates had been to the dorm room before, to play video games. When questioned, Falo told police he "made a bad decision" and said he had been the lookout for Gordon. Gordon denied knowing anything about the thefts.
Word of the arrests spread quickly across campus Thursday, with students saying the news was unsettling, especially as final exams approach. Falo and Gordon are now the third and fourth members of the football team to face criminal allegations this year.
Student-athlete Hunter Thompson, a member of CU's lacrosse team, says the arrests hurts the university's image.
"It's putting the university's name and the team's name on your back whenever you mess up," Thompson said.
Thompson says he'll now make sure he locks his dorm room door.
Other freshman students who live in nearby dorms called the arrests surprising.
"I kind of think that the football team is a little bit entitled," freshman Braden Welborn said.
"It's surprising to me to find out that so many football players are getting so rowdy and the ego and getting arrested," Jack Allspaugh, another freshman, said.
CU Athletics spokesman David Plati said any player in any kind of trouble is expected to self-report. Coach Mike MacIntyre suspended the two players indefinitely, meaning they may be able to return to the team, pending the outcome of their cases.
"We're all obviously disappointed when these things occur, it's not who are," Plati wrote in an email to CBS4.
Last month, another football player, Nathaniel "Blake" Robbins was dismissed from the team over charges he assaulted two Boulder police officers responding to a domestic dispute between him and his girlfriend. Police spokeswoman Shannon Cordingly says Robbins was arrested on suspicion of several charges, including assault, kidnapping, burglary, harassment and arson. The two officers injured in the incident have not yet been able to return to work.
Earlier this month, Samson Kafovalu was suspended indefinitely from the team after being arrested on suspicion of obstructing an officer. Cordingly said bouncers at the Sundown Saloon on the Pearl Street Mall refused to let Kafovalu into the bar because he was heavily intoxicated. After trying to get him a taxi home, Kafovalu was uncooperative, and officers took him into custody, she said.
And, Coach MacIntyre recently dismissed two players for violating team rules, though the university will not disclose what those violations were. Cade Apsay and Evan White will not be allowed to return to the team.
Falo and Gordon each posted a $5,000 bond and are due back in court next month.
Lauren DiSpirito is CBS4's Northern Newsroom reporter. Follow her on Twitter @CBS4Lauren. Share your story ideas with her here.
