Since 1923 • For a greater Loyola

The Maroon

Since 1923 • For a greater Loyola

The Maroon

Since 1923 • For a greater Loyola

The Maroon

Tulane linebacker accused of aiding robbery

Tulane’s football season is starting off with a bit of controversy – one of their star players has been implicated in a July 2012 robbery.

New Orleans Police arrested linebacker Trent Mackey, 22, of Buras, La., on Aug. 17 and charged him with relative to armed robbery.

The police released a crime alert on July 13 reporting the robbery. According to the alert, robbery victim Megan Wales and an unnamed male were in her home on Broadway Street when two unidentified black males entered Wales’ front door. One of the suspects reportedly pulled out a silver handgun, forced her to the ground and took her cell phone,

laptop and purse.

The report indicates that the

male victim was not forced to the ground but still had his cell phone stolen by the two suspects. After the suspects fled on foot, Wales followed the two to the intersection of Hampson and Audubon streets “where she demanded her cell phone and laptop back, and the suspects returned it to her,” according to the report.

After a co-operative effort between NOPD and Tulane police, one of the suspects was later identified as Robert Murray, 19. Murray surrendered himself to police on Aug. 17. The police report said that NOPD had questioned Murray before his arrest when he was pulled over on July 25 for having a temporary license plate

on his car. This car, a dark grey Chevrolet Cobalt, was reportedly the same one Mackey used to leave the crime scene, according to the NOPD. Murray’s driver’s license photo reportedly had an uncanny resemblance to the composite picture based on Wales’ description of the suspect.

According to a press release, Murray gave the police a taped statement the same day he was arrested. This statement lead to a warrant for Mackey, said NOPD detective Guy Swalm in the arrest report. An Aug. 20 story from the Times-Picayune said that Murray “implicated Mackey as the orchestrator of the incident,” during his questioning.

Mackey’s arrest report revealed that he was the unknown male

victim in the initial crime alert. The report revealed that he stepped outside to make a phone call at 1:30 p.m. but apparently left the front door unsecured when he came back inside. A subpoena of his phone records also indicated that he had been in “regular communications with a particular phone number directly prior to the incident,” Swalm’s report said.

The report also revealed that police were initially skeptical of Mackey because his story was inconsistent with what Wales had told them.

Murray’s bail was set at $100,000 and he will next appear in court on Oct. 16. Because he is being charged as an accomplice, Mackey’s bail is set at $75,000, and he will also return to court

on Oct. 16. The other suspect in the July robbery has not yet been identified, but the police said their investigation is still ongoing.

Mackey, who started all 12 games last season, did not play in the season opener on Sept. 1 against Rutgers. The Tulane Athletic Department and Public Relations department did not respond to inquiries about Mackey’s standing on the team. Mackey is just one of nine Tulane players in history to reach over 100 tackles multiple seasons in a row, with 124 his Sophomore season and 145 tackles his Junior season, according to his player bio.

Alex Davis can be reached at [email protected]

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