The Red and Black

Issue date: 7/12/07 Section: Sports

Georgia defensive lineman Paul "Tripp" Taylor has been charged with misdemeanor simple assault stemming from an incident in Cherokee County in late May, and is expected to turn himself in to authorities today (Monday), according to a release from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.

Taylor, 20, of Woodstock, was named as a suspect in the May 25 incident that left two teenage football players at Etowah High School injured, one seriously. The release says the victims were 16 and 17 years of age, and the 16-year-old victim received a severe injury to his eye. The 17-year-old received minor injuries.

Taylor is listed as a second string defensive lineman on the Georgia roster.

Also charged in the incident is Shane McCleskey, a football player at Murray State. McCleskey was charged with aggravated battery and battery, and turned himself in on July 14. He was released on $28,000 bond.

Both McCleskey and Taylor played high school football for Woodstock High School, Etowah High's main rival. Georgia starting tight end Tripp Chandler, who was arrested by Athens-Clarke County police with underage possession and possessing an open container on June 10, also played high school football for Woodstock.

The police report of the incident details the following: The two teens were at a park when they were approached by two males. One of the teens said he was cutting a piece of wood with a pocket knife when he was approached by one of the suspects asking him what he was doing. The teen told him is was none of his business, and that's when the suspect took the knife from him and pressed it to his throat, according to the report.

The other teen told the suspect to let him go, but he was then punched in the face by the other suspect, the report said. The teen then said he placed one of the suspects in a headlock and pulled him off the other teen. The teens said they began to walk away when they saw a group of approximately eight males walking toward them. One of the teens was then hit in the face with a baseball bat and kicked and punched. The report then says the other teen ran into the woods, where he was found by several other males, stripped of his clothes, punched, kicked and urinated on.

Before the suspects left, they told the teens not to tell anyone what happened. Both teens had visible bruising of their faces and scratches on their legs, the report said.

The Cherokee Gazette reported that Cherokee authorities said alcohol may have played a role in the brawl since deputies found several beer cans at the crime scene a day after the incident.

More arrests are possible, Cherokee authorities said, as the investigation revealed some 25 people were involved or had knowledge of the incident.

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