by Beth Rucker
Associated Press Writer
Knoxville, Tenn. -- Three freshmen Tennessee football players, including former Streetsboro High School student Mike Edwards, were charged with attempted armed robbery of three people outside a gas station the morning of Nov. 12. Others charged were highly touted wide receiver recruit Nu'Keese Richardson and starting safety Janzen Jackson. Richardson, 18, and Jackson, 18, defensive back Edwards, 18, and companion Marie Montmarquet, 22, were each charged with three counts of attempted armed robbery in connection with an incident at a gas station in an area known as "The Strip" at the edge of Tennessee's campus.
Edwards was a student at Streetsboro High School from May 2006, his freshman year, to January 2007, his sophomore year, according a school official.
Richardson was being held Nov. 12 on a $19,500 bond. Edwards was released on a $19,500 bond and Jackson was released on his own recognizance.
"Mr. Jackson vehemently asserts his innocence," Jackson's attorney Don Bosch said in a statement. It was not immediately known if Richardson and Edwards had attorneys.
The three players are the first arrested during the tenure of first-year coach Lane Kiffin, who on Nov. 12 said he would not make any comment on the situation until he knew more. Kiffin's predecessor, Phillip Fulmer, was often criticized for being too lax on a number of his players who had discipline problems.
"We're gathering all the information so we don't know exactly what happened. Unfortunately there was an incident. We made it 11 months and 11 days without [any incidents]. We'll deal with the information as it comes in," Kiffin said.
Kiffin also declined to say if he had spoken with any of the players or what kind of discipline they might be facing.
The three victims told police they were sitting in their parked vehicle just before 2 a.m. Nov. 12 at a gas station near Tennessee's campus when two males dressed in hooded jackets, one brandishing a handgun, approached and demanded, "Give us everything you've got."
"The victims stated that they all presented their wallets to the suspects and showed them that they did not have money," the police report said. "The victims stated that a third black male then approached and told the other two black males, 'We've got to go.'"
The three suspects were seen leaving in a Toyota Prius, and police pulled over a vehicle matching the description nearby. Police spotted a pellet gun and hooded jackets and later found drug paraphernalia and a bag of what appeared to be marijuana.
Police say Montmarquet told them the drug paraphernalia and substance belonged to her and she was charged with simple possession.
The victims identified Richardson and Edwards as the men who approached their vehicle. The incident happened at a gas station operated by Pilot, a company founded by former Tennessee football player and longtime booster Jim Haslam. Tennessee's outdoor football practice field is named Haslam Field in his honor.
Edwards has played in eight games this season and registered five tackles.