Three football players plead guilty to gun charges

Three football players facing felonious charges of possession and discharge of a weapon pleaded guilty in Durham County court today.

Freshmen John Drew, Kyle Griswould and Brandon Putnam were each given 12 months of supervised probation, 140 hours of community service and a $500 fine plus court fees for the Jan. 17 incident. The players were also given a 45-day sentence that was suspended.

Drew, Griswould, Putnam and an unidentified non-student were arrested after officers heard shots fired from a car near Jarvis Residence Hall at about 3 a.m. Jan. 17. The four were held in jail on a $40,000 secured bond on the night of the incident. The three players were dismissed from the football team and barred from campus until the charges were resolved.

Duke Police responding to a fire alarm in Aycock Residence Hall heard the shots fired from the vehicle. Officers discovered the vehicle parked near Blackwell Residence Hall and traced it to one of the charged suspects.

Chief John Dailey of the Duke University Police Department said an investigation immediately after the incident indicated shots were fired near Jarvis and on Campus Drive. Dailey said in January that the suspects were firing shots from a semi-automatic handgun into the air, but did not know how many shots were fired.

The former players said in court that they have moved home since the incident and have been looking for schools to attend in the Fall. While at Duke, Drew, a defensive tackle, had a game presence finishing his freshman season with 34 tackles. Drew played in all 12 games in 2009, including a starting assignment in one. Griswould, a running back, and Putnam, a defensive end, did not see playing time last Fall.