Texas Christian University dismissed wide receiver/kick returner KaVontae Turpin Tuesday after a second charge surfaced against him following a weekend arrest for an alleged altercation with his girlfriend.
Head coach Gary Patterson made the announcement during a news conference Tuesday saying a criminal complaint from New Mexico reported on by The Fort Worth Star-Telegram revealed that Turpin was arrested in March while there during spring break to visit a girlfriend.
Patterson said Tuesday he knew about a property damage charge in the spring, but that records obtained by the team from New Mexico then didn't list a battery charge that was also part of the case.
"Our players are like our kids, just like my own sons, but the bottom line is if they cross the line, then there's always a penalty to be paid," Patterson said. "It's not something that can be tolerated."
The coach said he also didn't know until Monday about a bench warrant issued in July when Turpin failed to appear for a pretrial hearing.
While it's clear Turpin has been removed from the team, TCU has not said whether Turpin remains a student at the university.
According to a criminal complaint obtained Tuesday, a Las Cruces police officer wrote that Turpin grabbed and bruised both arms of the victim, ripped her shirt and slammed her phone on the counter, causing the screen to break. Turpin admitted to the officer that he slammed the phone down.
The victim's name was redacted from that report, but the officer wrote that Turpin and the victim had been in an ongoing personal relationship for approximately four years.
That is believed to be the same woman that Turpin was with Saturday night when, according to an arrest affidavit, he was charged with assault causing bodily injury to a family member after Fort Worth police responded to a domestic disturbance call at an off-campus apartment complex.
In the Fort Worth affidavit, a 22-year-old woman who said she had been in a relationship with Turpin for five years told police he "dragged her across the parking lot" and that "he slammed her to the ground," causing her pain. She eventually got away and knocked on a neighbor's door, asking them to call police.
The arrest Saturday night came hours after Turpin had a 99-yard kickoff return for his school-record sixth career special teams touchdown and a 41-yard TD catch in TCU's 52-27 home loss to Oklahoma on Saturday. He was second in the Big 12 in all-purpose yards with 132.7 yards per game.
Police said a witness who lived at the complex said he and two friends heard screaming in the parking lot and then saw Turpin "manhandle" the woman "by grabbing her from behind with one arm across her neck, her feet dragging as she kicked and yelled at him," according to the affidavit.
There was no information on an attorney for Turpin, who could face up to a year in prison and a $4,000 fine if convicted of the Class A misdemeanor in Texas.
The New Mexico records indicate a public defender there as his attorney.
In a statement to NBC 5 on Monday, TCU said it was, "aware that one of its students was recently arrested for reported domestic situation. The university takes these types of reports very seriously and is continuing to gather information to determine next steps. TCU expects its students to behave in an ethical manner, abide by campus policies and adhere to state and federal law. The student also may face a charge of violating the University Code of Student Conduct, the results of which are independent and separate from any legal charges."
