South Carolina football player Javon Charleston, a reserve defensive back, has been charged with assault and burglary in Lexington County, according to police documents.
Charleston has been suspended from the team, a USC athletics department spokesman said.
A police report says that on June 17, Charleston was exchanging text messages with a woman. When she didn’t respond, he went to the place she was staying and entered the residence around 2 a.m, according to the report.
The woman woke up to find Charleston at the foot of her bed, she told police. Charleston got into a verbal altercation with a man who also was in the bed, the woman reported.
Charleston then chased the man out of the house, according to the report. He returned to the house to find the doors locked and tried to break down the door. The report says he then began taking the screens off the windows, attempting to gain entry.
The woman said that after she heard something break, Charleston was in the house, the report said. The woman ran out of the back door, but Charleston caught up with her and grabbed her by the neck, calling her a “dirty slut,” and pushing her down the stairs, the woman reported. He then took her phone.
The woman said she jumped a fence and went a neighbor’s house to call for help, the report said. Police said they found Charleston in a black Jeep that was parked nearby.
Charleston told the police he knew the woman and the code to get into the residence and that he went to check on her when she stopped texting him, believing that she was drunk. The report said he confirmed that he got into a verbal altercation with another man and that he attempted to break through the front door. Charleston said he then saw the woman jump over the fence to the neighbors yard.
The officer saw the screens missing from the window and the damaged front door, according to the report. Charleston was arrested, and the woman said she wanted to press charges.
The suspension means Charleston cannot take part in any football activities until his case is resolved, per USC athletic department policy.
South Carolina surprised Charleston, a former walk-on, with a scholarship in August of last year.
The Illinois product has played wide receiver and defensive back for the Gamecocks. He played in all 13 games in 2017, mostly on special teams. He recorded six tackles and recovered two fumbles.
For the assault and battery charge, Charleston could face up to $2,500 or up to three years in prison. A conviction for first-degree burglary carries a sentence of up to life in prison.