FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: |
May 19, 2007 |
Inspector Erik Richmond, (404) 909-0435 |
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Professional Basketball Player
Arrested by U.S. Marshals-led Fugitive Task Force |
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ROME,
GA - At approximately 6:30 pm today, members of the U.S.
Marshals-led Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (SERFTF) and
deputies from the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jemere
Curtis Hendrix, 23, moments after he finished playing a game with
the Rome Gladiators of the World Basketball Association. Hendrix was
wanted for failure to appear in court in Knoxville, Tennessee on
charges of possession and sale of marijuana. He was also wanted for
federal probation violation in the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Hendrix, a former star recruit for the University of Tennessee men’s
basketball program, who was dismissed from the team in an earlier
unrelated incident, was initially arrested by the Knoxville Police
Department on Tuesday, December 19, 2006, after a local officer
tried to pull him over for traffic violations. As the officer
approached, Hendrix attempted to flee from the car and had to be
subdued. A search of both his person and the car revealed large
quantities of suspected marijuana, as well as payment ledgers and
other drug paraphernalia. Hendrix was arrested and subsequently
granted bond with the agreement that he would return to court on the
appointed date.
On the afternoon of May 18, 2007, SERFTF investigators received
information that Hendrix was going to be with his team in Rome, GA
the following evening for a game. On May 19th, investigators and
Sheriff’s deputies coordinated with team officials and took Hendrix
safely into custody as the game ended. He was transported to the
Floyd County Jail where he will await extradition back to Tennessee
to face trial.
The US Marshals’ led Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (SERFTF)
is a team comprised of law enforcement officers from 25 local, state
and federal agencies. The task force’s objective is to seek out and
arrest the region’s most violent offenders. Since the inception of
the task force in September of 2003, the SERFTF has closed over
10,000 felony warrants.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at
http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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