Star pitcher arrested prior to playoff

By Leo D. Rommel

If nothing else, consider this a harsh lesson learned.

Sophomore James Kennedy, a star-studded pitcher for the baseball team, was charged on May 23 with felony possession of what turned out to be a fake AK-47 assault rifle, according to a May 25 article published in The Times of Trenton.

The charge surfaced after a delivery woman from a nearby fast-food restaurant caught a glimpse of numerous young men inside a residence hall room with what she assumed to be deadly weapons, officials said.

According to The Times, the 9:50 p.m. occurrence at Hill Hall led to an enormous response by Lawrence Township Police (LTPD), who immediately rushed onto the campus, locked down its entrances and surrounded the residence hall with guns drawn, looking for the supposedly armed suspects. An evacuation of the dorm left the building vacant as authorities completed a room-by-room search for gunmen.

In the end, however, the only weapon discovered was a single pellet gun, an imitation AK-47 assault rifle, which was lying on Kennedy’s bed.

Consequently, Kennedy, the recipient of last year’s New Jersey College Baseball Association’s Division I Rookie Pitcher of the Year honor, was suspended by the University from playing in the MAAC baseball tournament, which began two days later.

Without Kennedy (6-3), Rider lost that game, 5-0, to Manhattan.

“Jim was our hottest pitcher,” said shortstop Bryan Wagner, who graduated in May. “I don’t think his absence was the only reason why we lost, but it didn’t help, either.”

Phone calls to both Kennedy and Angelo Onofri, an assistant prosecutor in Mercer County, were not returned.

At the time of the incident, Rider was in summer recess and only members of the baseball team were permitted to live in Hill. Three other unidentified players that were reportedly involved in the incident were also suspended for the Manhattan playoff game.

According to The Times, a university official said that a member of the team may have been shooting at a paper cup in the hallway of the residence hall. Airsoft guns, which are designed to look like real firearms, traditionally fire small, 6-millimeter plastic balls.

Regardless, the University did not take the incident lightly. The players’ conduct was a direct violation of Policy 4.7 which, according to The Source, prohibits “the possession of a firearm or any other object designed to be commonly seen or used as a weapon, regardless of whether the weapon is actually operable.” Pellet guns were among the seven various forms of weapons not acceptable on school grounds.

The Times further reported that Anthony Campbell, Associate VP of Student Affairs, said that the University’s investigation into the matter showed that Kennedy was not at the dorm during the supposed happening.

“He was not present at the time the [delivery woman] reported the incident,” Campbell told The Times. “It was in his room.”

According to the article, Kennedy had been out to dinner with his parents and
returned to the dormitory as the incident was unfolding.

Nonetheless, LTPD spokesperson Lt. Mark Ubry said the charge against Kennedy at the time was for possessing the weapon, not for being one of the players spotted by the delivery woman.

“I’m not going to talk about what happened last May,” Head Coach Barry Davis said. “We’re moving forward with this season and with what we have to get done now.”

According to GoBroncs.com, Kennedy (listed as Jimmer Kennedy on the Web site) is still with the team. The Broncs 2007 season is projected to begin on February 23 at East Tennessee State.