UGA football players arrested on alcohol charges

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Two University of Georgia football players were arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol and other misdemeanor offenses early Saturday, according to Clark County jail records.

Dontavius Deshawn Jackson, a redshirt sophomore tailback, also was charged with DUI and leaving a scene of an accident and other traffic violations, according to jail records. Split end Tavarres King was also arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol, according to jail records.

The incidents come on the heels of firing of UGA’s Athletic Director Damon Evans, who was arrested in Atlanta last week for DUI.

Jackson and King, along with two others, were arrested by UGA police, according to jail records. Details of the incident were not immediately available.

Jackson, 20, was booked into the Athens-Clarke County Jail at 6:25 a.m., jail records show. He was also charged with: driving with a learner’s permit; violating the move-over law; and following too closely.

The charges carry a $2,750 total bond.

King, 19, was booked in the jail at 5:55 a.m. He was released at 7:04 a.m. on a $500 bond, jail records show.

Also arrested were Darren Brooks Whatley, 18, and Marygrace Elizabeth Azar, 20. Both were charged with underage possession of alcohol, jail records show. They each were released on a $500 bond.

This is the third time this week a UGA football player has been arrested.

Cornerback Jordan Love was arrested Monday night on obstruction of a law enforcement officer, a misdemeanor. UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson told the AJC Tuesday that the arrest now appears to have stemmed from a “breakdown in communications.”

Jackson’s name was tied to an alleged attack on a married couple in an Athens taxi in April. Jackson, who told the AJC at the time that he could not speak about the incident while it was under investigation, said he was the “peacemaker” and tried to calm the situation.

Evans was arrested last Wednesday after a trooper stopped Evans late Wednesday night on Piedmont Road at Chastain Drive in Buckhead.

Evans resigned Monday morning.

UGA President Michael Adams named Frank Crumley interim athletics director the following day.