2 UGA football players charged with alcohol offenses after DUI arrest brings down AD

UGA football players arrested for alcohol offenses

ATLANTA — Two football players for the University of Georgia were jailed early Saturday morning on alcohol-related charges less than a week after an embarrassing drunken driving arrest prompted the university’s athletic director to resign.

Dontavius Jackson, listed as a sophomore tailback, and sophomore split end Tavarres King were in a Chevrolet Avalanche stopped on a campus road just before 3 a.m., UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said.

Jackson, 20, was charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident and other motor vehicle offenses. King, 19, was charged with underaged possession of alcohol as were two other passengers inside the Chevrolet. A fifth person was allowed to leave without being arrested.

Williamson said his officers started following the truck because it failed to move into the left lane while police were conducting an unrelated traffic stop on the same stretch of road. Soon, the police officer following the car heard a radio transmission saying that the Chevrolet was wanted for an earlier hit-and-run accident.

Jackson was being held in the Clarke County jail Saturday afternoon and did not return phone and e-mail messages. A phone listing for King, who was released, was unavailable.

UGA spokesman Claude Felton said football coach Mark Richt was aware of the arrests and is gathering information about the incident. Felton said he was not expecting any decisions on discipline Saturday.

The arrests came less than a week after UGA Athletic Director Damon Evans resigned following an arrest for drunken driving. According to a police report, Evans told an officer: “I am not trying to bribe you, but is there anything you can do without arresting me?”

Evans asked to be taken to a motel instead of a jail or to be let off with a warning, according to police. The arresting officer said Evans, who is married, had a pair of red panties between his legs belonging to a 28-year-old female passenger who was not his wife.