Three of four Auburn football players still in jail

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Three of four Auburn football players arrested Friday in connection with a robbery remained in jail Monday morning.

Auburn Police Department Antonio Goodwin, 20.

Auburn Police Department Shaun Kitchens, 19.

Auburn Police Department Dakota Mosley, 19.

Auburn Police Department Michael McNeil, 22.

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Each is being held on a $511,000 bond.

All the players, including two from the Atlanta area, were charged with five counts of first-degree robbery. Coach Gene Chizik immediately dismissed them from the team.

Antonio Goodwin, 20, Shaun Kitchens, 19, Michael McNeil, 22, and Harrison Mosley, 19, also have been charged with burglary and property theft after breaking into a home early Friday morning, according to a news release from the Auburn Police Department.

Goodwin, a wide receiver, is from Atlanta. The Under Armour All-American went to Booker T. Washington and was named to the AJC’s Fab 50 list in 2010.

Goodwin also was one of the AJC's honorable mentions for the 2009 all-state team in Class AAA. He ranked No. 9 in the state's top 40 recruits in 2009.

Kitchens, also a receiver, went to Banneker High School in College Park. He was No. 31 in the state's top 40 recruits in 2009.

At Auburn, the two were reserve receivers who played mostly on special teams as freshmen.

"The players arrested in connection with this deeply troubling incident have been permanently dismissed from our football team. While we realize the legal process will run its course and these young men have a right for their case to be heard, playing for Auburn University is an honor and a privilege. It is not a right," Chizik said in a statement.

"I am extremely disappointed and embarrassed by the actions of these individuals. I want to personally apologize to all of those who were impacted by this senseless act, including the victims, Auburn University and the Auburn family."

The four players are accused in a robbery that occurred on Wire Road. According to police, the five victims who were home at the time said three men – one carrying a handgun – broke into the house and stole personal property. Police did not detail what was taken.

The men then got into a car with a driver waiting nearby and took off.

Police stopped the car and arrested the men. Authorities recovered a pistol and the stolen property.

Goodwin, Kitchens, McNeil, and Mosley were transported to the Lee County Detention Center and held on a $511,000 bond. Friday evening, Mosley  bonded out after his first appearance in court.

"This type of behavior will not be tolerated at Auburn. I fully support Coach Chizik's swift and decisive action to dismiss these four student-athletes from our football team effective immediately," Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs said in a statement.

--Staff writers Larry Hartstein and Angel K. Brooks contributed to this report.