College football has now hit a rough patch. It might be a deja vu moment for them. Last season, Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs had a tough time with player arrests. You name them- Rodarius Rara Thomas, Nitro Tuggle, and Marques Easley were all held under custody. This month, Georgia commit Chace Calicut got arrested after an alleged road rage accident. Turns out that this arrest fever has also spread around North Carolina. 

As per the reports, three ECU Pirates players have been suspended indefinitely after they were arrested during the July 19-20 weekend. The ECU players are Jackson Lampley, Preston Carr, and Brock Spalding. As we must be aware, the University of North Carolina is a network of 17 public universities in North Carolina, including ECU, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, and others.

Allegations have been brought up against them for shooting a g-n into the air over the weekend. Going through the reports made by the Greenville police to WITN, the police called to a house on Locust Drive. The place is situated just adjacent to the University of North Carolina campus, approximately within one mile.

While the police were on their way to the spot, they too heard shots being fired. After reaching the spot, the police could have a talk with two of the three students, Lampley and Carr. Both admitted to firing g- -s outside. However, Spalding reportedly refused to come out initially, but later wanted to resolve things. Now, what are the charges brought against them?

Spalding, the wide receiver is 21 years old. The University of North Carolina student, who is a wide receiver, has been charged with a discharging a weapon-related offense and unlawfully using it within city limits. Along with this, for resisting, delaying, and not complying with a police officer. 21-year-old defensive lineman Lampley and 22-year-old defensive lineman Carr have been charged with discharging a firearm within city limits. Interestingly, Lampley and Spalding had become the face of the program. They both were named preseason All-American Athletic Conference players by Phil Steele Magazine. 

Police confirmed that no injuries were reported from the shots allegedly fired by the players. Not a good time for this arrest. After all, ECU is gearing up for the 2025 season on Thursday, Aug. 28, against NC State in Raleigh. During this crucial time, the news of the arrest of three players exposes the dark past of the University of North Carolina. 

Past history with student arrests

Back in February 2024, three University of North Carolina players were charged among ten after a student’s death in a high-speed crash. A 20-year-old University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student, Molly Rotunda, was killed in a high-speed crash in Chapel Hill. The incident took place at approximately 2 a.m. on January 21 on NC Highway 54, close to W. Barbee Chapel Road. The investigation reports showed that the car was travelling at 124 mph, exceeding the speed limit of 45 mph.

On further investigation, Flemeeja Brewer, the 21-year-old University of North Carolina student’s name came up. Brewer was allegedly behind the driver’s wheel at the time of the accident. But what led to the accident? WRAL News previously reported that search warrants explained a group of friends had been dr- – – – -g at a football player’s birthday party at a bar on Franklin Street. After this, the group left the bar. On their way back home, two of the friends took part in a car race.

The other University of North Carolina players involved in this accident were Malaki Hamrick. He was charged with underage possession. Other than Brewer and Hamrick, the University of North Carolina sophomore offensive lineman Zach Rice, another former 5-star recruit from Lynchburg, Virginia, was also involved. However, he was driving a different car and was not in the one driven by Brewer. Yet then, he was charged for allegedly drinking while being underage. How will the University of North Carolina treat this latest set of crimes?