WSU’s Bland arrested
COUGARS
As we said on the previous post, we spent a while today running down the particulars of linebacker Louis Bland's domestic violence arrest that occurred early Saturday morning. We have a story, so read on.
••••••••••
• Here's the piece on Bland's arrest, most of which will just run here on the blog. There will be a part of it in tomorrow's paper. ...
PULLMAN – Washington State linebacker Louis Bland was arrested early Saturday morning and charged with assault in a domestic dispute.
Bland, who missed the 2010 season with a knee injury after starting off and on for two seasons, was charged with second-degree assault, which is a class b felony.
Bland's status for spring football, which begins Monday, is still to be determined according to a WSU spokesman, though Bland is currently not allowed to take part in team activities as the coaching staff looks into the incident.
Police were called to Bland's apartment by the linebacker at around 3 a.m. Saturday. He told officers he was having a dispute with his girlfriend over a cell phone, according to Pullman police spokesman Cmdr. Chris Tennant.
After officers were unable to find probable cause for an arrest, both parties were warned and the police left.
About 30 minutes later a third party called police and reported a female screaming from the same residence.
Officers responded and the female alleged Bland assaulted her by throwing her to the ground, elbowing her in the back, hitting her in the head and choking her, according to Tennant. Officers observed physical evidence to indicate, Tennant said, "at least some of that did happen."
Bland countered by alleging the female also assaulted him, which Tennant said also was indicated by evidence. "But it certainly didn't raise to the level," of Bland's alleged actions, Tennant added.
Under Washington State law in a domestic violence case, officers are mandated to arrest whomever they consider "the major aggressor," Tennant said.
Bland, 21, was arrested and booked into Whitman County Jail. A class b felony can result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a $20,000 fine.
•••
• That's it for now. We'll be back in the morning. Until then ...
