Western Michigan basketball player charged with murder
A Western Michigan basketball player has been charged with murder and armed robbery in connection with the fatal shooting of a fellow student.
Authorities allege that Joeviair Kennedy killed 19-year-old Jacob Jones during an attempted robbery last Thursday night. Kennedy is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in a Kalamazoo County courthouse.
The incident began when two robbers entered the apartment and demanded cash, marijuana and phones from the four people inside, MLive.com reported on Monday. Jones allegedly was shot when he stood up from the couch.
Western Michigan suspended Kennedy on Friday and subsequently scrubbed the 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman from its website. Kennedy was averaging 3.1 points in 7.4 minutes per game so far this season for the Broncos (3-6).
Without Kennedy, Western Michigan rallied from a seven-point deficit on Saturday to defeat visiting James Madison. Afterward, Broncos coach Steve Hawkins addressed reporters about Kennedy’s alleged role in the murder of Jones.
“It’s a devastating tragedy for everyone involved,” Hawkins said. “Lives were changed forever, so we’re very respectful of that and very shook by the whole thing. Now it’s up to us, as you always do, to try to mentor young people and try to pick up the pieces.”
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
