Another former Texas Tech player arrested for burglary
The third former Texas Tech player allegedly involved in a January robbery has been arrested.
Linebacker Dakota Allen, who was dismissed from the program last month along with offensive linemen Robert Castaneda and Trace Ellison, was booked into jail late Thursday night, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Like Castaneda and Ellison, Allen is facing a second-degree felony burglary charge.
According to police, the three former Red Raiders broke into a home in January (during the school’s winter break) and stole a television, two digital cameras and a safe with seven firearms. One of the home’s residents saw one of the stolen guns for sale at a local store a few months later, leading police to Castaneda, who is said to have sold the weapon.
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Police say Castaneda confessed to the robbery and gave up the jersey numbers of his accomplices.
When investigators interviewed Castaneda on May 3, he initially told them he bought the guns illegally and cheaply, and that he intended to resell them. Later, according to the affidavit, Castaneda told them he and the other two individuals broke into the home trying to steal money from a drug dealer who lived there, but instead took the gun safe with the weapons inside, the affidavit said.
Castaneda was reluctant to name the two other individuals but eventually told investigators their jersey numbers, the affidavit said.
Ellison was arrested earlier this week, about a week after Castaneda. Like Castaneda, Ellison was upfront with police and admitted to breaking into the home.
Allen was also forthright with law enforcement.
From the Avalanche-Journal:
Allen came forward and reportedly admitted to breaking into the home with Castaneda and Ellison and stealing the gun safe. He said it was his idea to split the guns among them. However, he said the safe was opened at Castaneda’s home, the warrant states.
Allen told investigators he and Castaneda sold the guns.
Allen reportedly told investigators he kept one of the stolen guns, a Smith and Wesson five-shot revolver, and hid it in a field behind his home. Police returned all of the recovered guns to the owner.
Allen registered 87 tackles in 2015 as a redshirt freshman, second-most on the team. Castaneda was a backup last season while Ellison redshirted. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury dismissed the three on May 5 for “failure to uphold student-athlete expectations.”
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
