The Albuquerque Police Department has recovered nine altered Oklahoma driver's licenses, eight of which carry the names and photographs of underage UNM football players, and is investigating possible criminal offenses related to the incident.
Copies of the nine licenses, each of which lists ages of 21 or older, were found Dec. 17 at the Kinko's on San Mateo Boulevard. The licenses themselves have since been recovered and tagged into evidence, said APD spokesman Jeff Arbogast.
Arbogast said police are still conducting interviews, which will determine if a crime has been committed and if so, by whom.
The eight players being investigated, all of who are under the age of 21, are Robert Turner, Michael Mohoric, Brian Beaty, Jerrell Malone, Jason Malone (no relation), Blaine Harrell, Brandon McKinley and Michael Powdrell. Five of the eight are scholarship players.
"All eight players are being interviewed, as well as potential witnesses, which include employees, customers who were in the store on the day in question and individuals who may be in contact with the players," Arbogast said.
The police report states that the Kinko's employee who found and reported the copied licenses witnessed two males and a female working at the same location within the store for about an hour and that one of the males was wearing what appeared to be a UNM Lobos sweatshirt.
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According to New Mexico law, altering a driver's license is a felony punishable by jail time, while actually using this type of forged document is only a misdemeanor.
Arbogast said police are using photographic arrays, which are similar to police lineups, to determine the identities of the people who left the licenses at the Kinko's.
He added that the eight football players were contacted by Albuquerque police after they returned from their trip to Las Vegas, where UNM played against UCLA in the Sega Sports Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 25.
"This was not a violent situation," Arbogast said. "It was determined that the players have substantial ties to the community and they were not considered to be a flight risk."
Arbogast said that once the interviewing process is complete, the case will be turned over to the District Attorney's office. From there, the judgment will be made as to whether or not there is enough evidence to prosecute.
UNM sports information director Greg Remington said that the University is conducting its own investigation of the matter and that no suspensions have been handed out to date.
"We don't know if (the players) are guilty yet," Remington said.
UNM Dean of Students Randy Bogelin added that the investigation must be handled carefully, as the incident occurred off-campus.
"We don't police off-campus infractions," he said.
The Dean of Students office is trying to identify what this behavior means and if there is a compelling institutional interest involved, Bogelin said.
He added that the University has rules against the falsification of documents, but declined to comment on possible sanctions against the players, as the investigation is ongoing.
