Four Auburn football players arrested, dismissed from team | ajc.com[/url]our Auburn football players, including two from the Atlanta area, have been arrested and charged with five counts of first degree robbery.
Auburn Police Department Antonio Goodwin, 20.
Auburn Police Department Shaun Kitchens, 19.
Auburn Police Department Harrison Mosley, 19.
Auburn Police Department Michael McNeil, 22.
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Coach Gene Chizik has "permanently dismissed" the players 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 just after midnight Friday, according to news release from the Auburn Police Department.
Wide receiver Antonio Goodwin 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 was No. 9 in the state's top 40 recruits in 2009.
Receiver Shaun Kitchens 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 of breaking into a home 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 drove 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 where each is currently being held on a $511,000 bond.
"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
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