Pair of USC students charged with stealing jerseys from 2023 NFL Draft
A pair of USC students have been arrested and charged with allegedly stealing jerseys from the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City, Missouri over the weekend.
The duo of suspects, since identified as 19-year-old Jude Ocanas and 41-year-old Eric Lambkins, are reportedly journalism majors at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
They were caught on camera leaving their hotel at around 1 a.m. via emergency exit on Friday, where they proceeded to enter the backstage area of the NFL Draft stage — where they were not credentialed, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office.
Kansas City police say that the two stole three jerseys — a blue Dallas Cowboys jersey, a red San Francisco 49ers jersey and a Minnesota Vikings jersey — all etched with the the number one to signify a college player getting drafted by a team.
Detectives say that each jersey is valued at around $350.
Missouri court documents allege that the duo then left the area with a duffel bag that appeared "fuller."
Lambkins is listed online as the Deputy Managing Editor and Assistant Director at Annenberg TV News, and social media videos from his personal Instagram show that he was indeed at the Draft last week.
A different photo from Annenberg Media also shows Ocanas at the Draft.
While other USC students didn't immediately recognize the pair, they're hopeful that their actions won't have repercussions for their future when it comes to getting credentialed to cover NFL events.
"We had Annenberg passes that like cover different events," said one USC student. "There's definitely a level of trust that they have in us, so I hope they don't take that away."
Lambkins and Ocanas were both arrested later Friday as they were about to board a flight at the airport in Missouri, where they were found with two of the three jerseys in their bags.
They both face charges of second-degree burglary and first-degree trespassing.
As it stands, USC is only saying that student privacy laws limit what they can share when it comes to the investigation, but they are fully cooperating with authorities.