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Javon McKinley, a junior Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver from Corona, Calif., was arrested Sunday, accused of drunkenly brawling with police officers trying to get him back to his dorm.
Notre Dame Police arrested McKinley and the 6-foot-2, 215 pound receiver was booked into the St. Joseph County Jail at 4:47 a.m. Sunday. He was released Monday on $250 bail, to re-appear at 8 a.m. Feb. 28 in St. Joseph Superior Court, according to the county jail’s inmate locator.
While McKinley, 20, was preliminarily charged with felony-level battery and misdemeanor-level resisting law enforcement, the charges were altered at his arraignment to two misdemeanor-level counts of battery and one misdemeanor count of underage drinking.
The details of McKinley’s night were outlined in a probable cause affidavit acquired by TMZ, the South Bend Tribune as well as others.
The Tribune reported Monday:
McKinley arrived on campus in an Uber just before 4 a.m., according to a probable cause affidavit. McKinley was reportedly unresponsive in the back of the vehicle and Notre Dame personnel attempted to help wake him and take him to his dorm. After finally waking the student, Notre Dame officers Adis Ibrekic and Laurie Steffen began to help McKinley to his dorm, but he reportedly stopped walking and refused to continue. The two officers said they could smell alcohol on his breath and believed that in his condition he required assistance.
The officers reportedly told McKinley they wanted to get him out of the cold, but he tensed up and tried to leave in the opposite direction of his dorm, according to court documents. The officers said they identified themselves to McKinley as campus police, but were unable to gain control of him. In their efforts to restrain McKinley, he reportedly punched both officers, according to court documents. McKinley was eventually restrained with the assistance of Notre Dame firefighters who also responded and was transported to the St. Joseph County Jail.
McKinley’s arrest, without details, was first reported Monday morning by Irish Sports Daily.
The four-star prospect had the third most receiving yards (3,752) in California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section history, but has barely seen the field since recovering from a broken leg suffered during his freshman season. He played just five offensive snaps during the 2018 regular season, against the Syracuse Orange and USC Trojans.
If McKinley had been charged with a felony, that would have given the university grounds to dismiss him. So while the charges are certainly serious, the junior may be able to complete his degree without the delay that former safety Max Redfield faced after being charged with handgun possession.