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Ranger College athlete indicted in fatal shooting
By Danny Robbins
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
The Ranger College football player who shot and killed a dormitory intruder in March has been indicted on a murder charge.
Devron Wadlington, 18, of Cadiz, Ky., was indicted May 29 by an Eastland County grand jury in connection with the death of D'Waylon Jones, 20, of Lancaster.
The charge, a first-degree felony, carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Wadlington was arrested March 30 after Jones bled to death from a gunshot wound in his leg after a shooting at Ranger Hall, a campus dormitory.
Jones and another Lancaster man, Brandon James, had entered Wadlington's room with an AK-74 assault rifle and tried to rob him, Ranger Police Chief Jerome Chaney said.
Wadlington gained control of the rifle, chased Jones outside the room and shot him, Chaney said.
Wadlington was released from the Eastland County Jail on Monday after posting $50,000 bail.
His bail was initially set at $500,000, but it was reduced at his indictment by state District Judge Steven Herod.
James has been indicted on a charge of aggravated robbery, also a first-degree felony. He was released from jail June 10 after posting $50,000 bail.
Wadlington was a high school football and basketball star in Kentucky and a freshman receiver on the Ranger football team last fall. James, 20, was one of Wadlington's dormitory suite-mates and was a quarterback on the Ranger football team. Jones did not attend the college. He and James had been teammates on the Lancaster High School football team in 2000.
Wadlington's attorney, Jim Parker of Comanche, said he questioned his client's indictment.
Parker said Jones and James were carrying a handgun as well as the assault rifle when they entered Wadlington's room. He said Wadlington was shot under his arm with the handgun before he gained control of the rifle.
"Self-defense, defense of property -- call it what you want," he said. "After he'd been shot, I would think the gloves would be off."
Parker was appointed Wadlington's attorney by the court May 20 after an attorney hired by Wadlington's family, Landon Thompson of Cisco, withdrew from the case, saying the family could not afford his services.
The shooting was the latest in a series of incidents at Ranger, a junior college 90 miles west of Fort Worth that relies heavily on athletes to boost enrollment. Some of the school's former coaches have criticized its philosophy, saying a combination of unusually large rosters and minimal supervisory personnel has created a dangerous campus environment.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/6114291.htm
By Danny Robbins
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
The Ranger College football player who shot and killed a dormitory intruder in March has been indicted on a murder charge.
Devron Wadlington, 18, of Cadiz, Ky., was indicted May 29 by an Eastland County grand jury in connection with the death of D'Waylon Jones, 20, of Lancaster.
The charge, a first-degree felony, carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Wadlington was arrested March 30 after Jones bled to death from a gunshot wound in his leg after a shooting at Ranger Hall, a campus dormitory.
Jones and another Lancaster man, Brandon James, had entered Wadlington's room with an AK-74 assault rifle and tried to rob him, Ranger Police Chief Jerome Chaney said.
Wadlington gained control of the rifle, chased Jones outside the room and shot him, Chaney said.
Wadlington was released from the Eastland County Jail on Monday after posting $50,000 bail.
His bail was initially set at $500,000, but it was reduced at his indictment by state District Judge Steven Herod.
James has been indicted on a charge of aggravated robbery, also a first-degree felony. He was released from jail June 10 after posting $50,000 bail.
Wadlington was a high school football and basketball star in Kentucky and a freshman receiver on the Ranger football team last fall. James, 20, was one of Wadlington's dormitory suite-mates and was a quarterback on the Ranger football team. Jones did not attend the college. He and James had been teammates on the Lancaster High School football team in 2000.
Wadlington's attorney, Jim Parker of Comanche, said he questioned his client's indictment.
Parker said Jones and James were carrying a handgun as well as the assault rifle when they entered Wadlington's room. He said Wadlington was shot under his arm with the handgun before he gained control of the rifle.
"Self-defense, defense of property -- call it what you want," he said. "After he'd been shot, I would think the gloves would be off."
Parker was appointed Wadlington's attorney by the court May 20 after an attorney hired by Wadlington's family, Landon Thompson of Cisco, withdrew from the case, saying the family could not afford his services.
The shooting was the latest in a series of incidents at Ranger, a junior college 90 miles west of Fort Worth that relies heavily on athletes to boost enrollment. Some of the school's former coaches have criticized its philosophy, saying a combination of unusually large rosters and minimal supervisory personnel has created a dangerous campus environment.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/6114291.htm
