:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/4194745/uspw_6740450.0.jpg)
Get this: a school bends over backward to get you eligible without sitting out a season after you transfer. How do you repay them?
Go out and get arrested for burglary.
That is just what Shaq Stokes has done to Hofstra. Stokes and three of his teammates -- Jimmy Hall, Kentrell Washington and Dallas Anglin -- were arrested Thursday for burglary. Based on reports from the New York media, the four broke into dorm rooms and stole laptops, iPads and other electronics, that they then resold on Craigslist to cover their expenses.
The school released a statement stating that the four were suspended:
"The four students have been immediately suspended from the University, including the basketball team, classes, residence halls and facilities, pending the outcome of the case," Hofstra's Steven Gorchov said in a statement.
Based on reports from the New York Posts, the items are worth at least $20,000, and half of that has been recovered at this time.
There was a report at the time that the coach Mo Cassara was also a victim of the thefts, however that has been disputed by the school citing the timing of Cassara's loss.
Bond has been set on all four with Stokes drawing the amount of $25,000. Only Anglin has paid his bail and has been released.
Frankly, this is just disturbing considering the statements released from the players and police documents:
In his statement to police, Hall said he was with Stokes when they "walked by an open room. We saw the open door and a laptop sitting on a bed," court records show.
Hall said Stokes acted as a lookout, according to the statement. "I took the laptop, a silver MacBook Pro, and I put it in my bookbag," and Hall brought it back to his room, the statement said.
Even better is how they got caught. According to Detective Lt. Ray Cote:
Cote said the case broke on Tuesday when "a young lady who had lost her iPad in the beginning of November, logged onto her account and accessed her find my iPad app. She found that her iPad was registered to another person. That person is Shaquille Stokes."
Case closed.
Given all the trouble at the beginning of the season with Hofstra players, this is a disturbing trend. We will have more on the impact to the team as the case evolves.