Football: Pioneer Valley star faces robbery charges
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It hasn’t been a good year for a couple of star running backs. Lakewood’s Jerry Stone was arrested on attempted murder charges before the season and will be tried as an adult.
And now comes Pioneer Valley’s Shawn Tucker, who faces charges of strong-armed robbery with a gang enhancement following an incident last weekend in which he was arrested after a 19-year-old man alleged that Tucker and two others assaulted him and took his wallet. A 14-year-old girl was also arrested in connection with the incident. The victim was not injured.
Tucker did not enter a plea at his arraignment hearing, which was continued to Friday. The 18-year-old has been identified as a gang member by police and has a criminal record including robbery, assault and grand theft. His mother, Beverly Tucker, told the Santa Maria Times that the latest incident is a case of mistaken identity.
Tucker had scored 13 touchdowns for the Panthers (9-1), who play host to Lawndale (5-5) on Friday in the first round of the Northwest Division playoffs.
--Ben Bolch