Police: College athletes arrested in Santa Maria murder
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The Santa Maria police SWAT team arrested two Allan Hancock College basketball players on Saturday night in connection with the murder of 23-year-old Terence Richardson last month, reports CBS affiliate KCOY.
Reportedly as a result of evidence and interviews, the police department in the city about 120 miles north of Los Angeles arrested Ali Mohammed, 19, and Lavell White, 22 in the murder of Richardson. He was shot on Dec. 30 near his home in Santa Maria, according to the station.
A school official reportedly told the Lompoc Record that the school had no knowledge of the investigation into Mohammed and White. The school also released a statement to KCOY.
"We are disappointed and shocked by the arrest of two of our student-athletes," a spokesperson for Allan Hancock told KCOY. "We are still trying to understand all of the details of this incident, but this clearly does not meet the high standards our student-athletes have maintained for many years."
The spokesperson also said that the school plans to fully cooperate with the police throughout the investigation.
The two players were booked for murder at the Santa Barbara County Jail. Their bail was set at $1 million, according to the CBS affiliate.