"I wouldn't call him the chief suspect in this case, but there are some strong allegations made against him," Stone said of Jefferson on WAFB Channel 9 after the search. "And that's the reason for the search warrant."
Jefferson is one of four LSU players police questioned Tuesday about their roles in a fight outside Shady's Bar near the campus between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Friday that sent four non-players to the hospital, but Stone said Jefferson's apartment was the only one of the four players' homes police planned to search. One of the four people injured has three broken vertebrae, according to Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White.
Stone said blood on clothing was among the items police were seeking. Jefferson has been accused by multiple witnesses, including the injured, of kicking one of the four injured in the head while he was on the ground, according to a WAFB report during the weekend. Fewer witnesses have said Jefferson was not heavily involved in the fight.
"Investigators will look at the items closely, and if there are items that need to be sent to the crime lab for analysis, those items will go there," Stone said. "The investigators will sort through the items and see if any are connected to the allegations."
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Police gathered enough evidence in their investigation during the last several days to get the search warrant to prove or disprove the allegations against him Jefferson, Stone said.
Jefferson, a 20-year-old senior from Destrehan who has been LSU's starting quarterback since late in the 2008 season, was at the apartment during the search and cooperated fully, Stone said. Jefferson was not arrested, and Stone said there are no immediate plans to make an arrest in the case.
"We're still midway through the investigation," Stone said. "We're still several days from the conclusion of it."
Stone has said several times that police expected to make arrests at the conclusion of this case on charges of felony second-degree battery and/or misdemeanor simple battery.
The football team was off Wednesday as it prepared for its season opener Sept. 3 against Oregon at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Shortly after the search of Jefferson's apartment, LSU coach Les Miles hosted his first weekly radio show of the season at a local restaurant and said he was aware of the search.
"We understand that there's an investigation that's going on that's giving review to several of their teammates," he said to open the show. "It's a side distraction to a great season that certainly we did not want."
Miles was asked by a caller during the show if he would suspend a player or players because of the fight.
"Yeah, I think there are some possibilities of roster changes," he said.
More than 20 of LSU's football players were at Shady's when the fight happened, and more players could be questioned, Stone said. All had broken a 10:30 p.m. curfew.
"I told my guys, 'We made our bed, and now it's time to get it right,' " Miles said. "The want and desire to redirect this team is there, and that responsibility is being taken by every member on it. I know that my guys are good young men by and large. They've certainly made some mistakes, but they'll get by this and develop into a fine football team."
During the show, Miles took two questions about one of the four injured men in the fight being a Marine.
"Nobody here is anti-Marine Corps in any way," Miles said. "I personally don't want to talk about any specific Marine."
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/l9apE4Xhk5A/1
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