Jesse Berry, a University of Dayton basketball recruit, was arrested for battery resulting in bodily harm, according to the police records in Sunday’s edition of the Lafayette (Ind.) Courier & Journal. It’s Berry’s second arrest this school year.
The Lafayette Jefferson High School star has not been charged yet for the incident because Tippecanoe County prosecutors are still investigating the altercation. Berry was arrested in the fall for shoplifting and entered a diversion program for nonviolent offenders.
Berry, 18, who has been living on his own in an apartment for several months, said he tried to break up a fight between his girlfriend and ex-girlfriend at his residence.
He said the ex-girlfriend “got beat up pretty bad. She got really mad. That’s what happened. After I broke it up, she had a scar all over. (The police) told me they had to arrest me because of the scar. Everybody’s story was, ‘Jesse didn’t touch her, Jesse just broke it up.’ But we both got arrested.”
As for the shoplifting charge, Berry said he was caught stealing an iPhone case.
“I’m just really embarrassed,” he said. “When I walked around school, I used to think, ‘I’m Jesse Berry. I’m the man around here.’ Now when I walk around here, I don’t know what people are thinking.
“It was just something stupid. We all make bad decisions.”
Berry averaged 23.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals for Lafayette Jeff this season. He shot 46.8 percent from the field, 35.1 percent on 3-pointers and 79.5 percent on foul shots.
The latest arrest cost Berry a spot on the Courier & Journal’s all-area team because of off-court issues, according to Jim Stafford, the newspaper’s sports editor. “He would have been our player of the year, hands down,” Stafford said.
UD coach Brian Gregory didn’t return a phone message seeking comment. Berry said he has been in contact with his future coach.
://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/university-of-dayton-flyers/ud-basketball-recruit-arrested-for-2nd-time-651373.html