The rumors swirled all day but finally the official news has broken...freshman LB Malcolm Cater has been arrested on felony burglary and grand larceny charges for allegedly breaking into three South Campus apartments.
Cater, 19, of 130 Lambreth Lane, is charged with three counts of burglary and one count of grand larceny, all felonies, and two counts of petit larceny, both misdemeanors.
Cater is no scrub. He played in all 12 games for the Orange this year and had a legitimate chance of starting next year.
Doug Marrone, who doesn't even like to acknowledge the existence of players who leave the team, did make a statement.
"I’m aware of the criminal charges filed against Malcolm Cater by the Syracuse Police Department," SU head coach Doug Marrone said in a statement tonight. "Cater is no longer part of the Syracuse football program."
I'd love to tell you Malcolm is a criminal mastermind an his eventual capture was only due to hard work and keen detection skills of a superhero. Alas, no superhero was necessary...
Both SPD and SU's Department of Public Safety responded to a phone call received at 3 a.m. Saturday reporting someone carrying a large television into an apartment at 130 Lambreth Lane, where Cater lives. Police then discovered the two Farm Acre apartments had been burglarized, and followed footsteps in the snow from behind the apartments to Cater's Lambreth apartment.
And so, Cater goes from being weeks away from playing in the Pinstripe Bowl close to where he grew up to facing felony charges and jail time.
If you really want to feel bad, read this article about Cater's redemption while in high school. It profiles how a young boy caught shoplifting and who spent most of his teenage life on probation had turned things around thanks to football. Here's the depressing money-shot:
" It's a good thing and a blessing to play football and get an education. This is a chance at having a better life."