UPDATE: ETSU Bucs basketball player Cooley arrested for filing false report

UPDATE: Feb. 23 5:59 p.m.

By: George Jackson || 11CONNECTS

On Thursday, East Tennessee State University campus police filed a criminal charge against a starting guard for the men's basketball team. The team put him on indefinite suspension.

Police arrested Sheldon Cooley late Thursday afternoon. He's charged with filing a false report.

The investigation was opened on Tuesday when Cooley's teammates, Adam Sollazzo and J.C. Ward, pressed one of the university's panic alarm buttons.

Sollazzo and Ward told police three men broke into a Buccaneer Ridge apartment, bound and gagged them, and stole some of their belongings.

Cooley and Ward share the apartment. Sollazzo was visiting.

Sollazzo and Ward were not harmed during the reported robbery. They told police the robbers took debit cards, credit cards, and a laptop computer.

Cooley--who told investigators he was not home at the time of the robbery--said the three robbers also took $1,300 cash. Police said he made that part up.

ETSU Athletic Director Dave Mullins addressed the charge and the suspension after post-game interviews with the women's basketball team.

"(Cooley) has been suspended indefinitely by ETSU Men's Basketball Head Coach Murray Bartow," he said.

Sollazzo and Ward were on the sidelines for Thursday's game against Stetson. Sollazzo started. Ward sat out with an injury.

ETSU Officials said this was not the first time Ward reported a robbery at his residence.

"Some time in the past few months, he told campus police someone took his athletic rings," ETSU Spokesman Joe Smith said.

The case was never solved.

To this point, ETSU has handled both reported robberies internally.

Johnson City Police sent a K-9 officer to Cooley and Ward's apartment on Tuesday. It ran a short track and stopped in the parking lot, police said.

"(ETSU's) investigation is continuing," Mullins said.

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UPDATE: Feb. 23 5:59 p.m.

ETSU PRESS RELEASE

East Tennessee State University student Sheldon Cooley has been arrested for filing a false police report.

Cooley’s residence at BucRidge on the ETSU campus was the scene of an especially aggravated burglary on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at which time two students who were at the apartment say they were bound and gagged.  One of the victims resided there, and the other was a friend visiting.

Cooley was not present during this event.  The two students who were there reported that several items were taken from the residence by the intruders.  Cooley reported that $1,300 in cash belonging to him was taken by the intruders.

An investigation by ETSU Public Safety has revealed that Cooley had not been in possession of that money and that his initial report of the $1,300 being stolen from him was false.

Cooley has been arrested by ETSU Public Safety for filing a false police report.  The investigation into the Feb. 21 aggravated robbery incident remains under active investigation.

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UPDATE: Feb. 22 5:04 p.m.

By: Chris McIntosh || 11CONNECTS

Police said two ETSU basketball players were the victims of an armed robbery last night inside an on-campus apartment.

That led the university to issue a crime alert that continues this evening.

The armed robbery took place at buccaneer ridge apartments just before ten last night.

Student athlete Adam Sollazzo and JC Ward said three suspects with handguns tied them up, gagged them and robbed them.

Joe Smith with ETSU University Relations isn’t sure if the two were targeted because they are student athletes yet.

“We don't really know yet, that's what we are hoping the investigation will bring forth in terms of why these three people were the ones that were targeted,” said Smith.

ETSU Head Coach Murry Bartow would rather see his players spend their day practicing the game they love.

“They're doing okay,” said Bartow.  “Obviously it was not a fun night for them, but you know they are great kids and they are doing fine."

Sollazzo and Ward were at the apartment building last night when--according to the police report--three men entered the apartment and robbed the pair before tying their hands and feet with rope and tape, putting gags in their mouths and then fleeing scene.

“I know that within the past couple of years this is definitely been one of more significant crimes that has happened,” said Smith.

What about other students that live here?  Do they feel safe?

"Even with yesterday’s events this is nothing compared to Jersey City, New Jersey,” said Walker.  “The I feel most fearful of is the drivers around here who don't respect people and the pedestrians crossing the street ... that’s my biggest fear more than someone robbing me."

Bartow was there with his players as soon as he found out about last night's incident.  The coach says he has never had something like this happen to any of his players before, and that he is confident in their ability to bounce back from this ordeal.

What was taken in the robbery?

Credit and debit cards, laptops, cell phones and $1,300 were taken from Sollazzo, Ward and Seheldon Cooley during the robbery last night.

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UPDATE: Feb. 21 11:54 p.m.

Here's a statement just issued by ETSU:

"At approximately 9:53 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 21, ETSU Public Safety received a panic alarm call from BucRidge Apartments, Building O. Officers arrived on the scene and found two students who said they had been bound. The students indicated that three men had broken into the residence and displayed two pistols. The students said the three intruders bound them and robbed them of several items, including debit and credit cards and a laptop computer. The students said after the intruders left the scene, they were able to reach a panic alarm button.

The victims were not injured, and ETSU Public Safety is working with Johnson City Police in search of the suspects. The student described the three suspects as African American between the ages of 18 and 21 years wearing hoodies and black clothes.

The investigation is continuing."

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Here's the first report:

East Tennessee State University issued a campus alert - or Gold Alert -  tonight after an armed robbery at Buc Ridge, an apartment complex for ETSU students.

At 10:58 p.m., ETSU issued the alert notifying students and staff there had been an assualt and attempted robbery.

At 11:03 p.m., the Gold Alert was updated to say an armed robbery happened at Buc Ridge.

At 11:14 p.m., ETSU's website included this Gold Alert: "Upon further information, the armed robbery occurred at Buc Ridge. Please take necessary precautions to ensure your safety."

No other information has been released by ETSU.   The Gold Alert is a campus alert system utilitizing the school's website and text messaging.