Patrick Onwuasor wasn’t able to stop Stanford quarterback Josh Nunes from running for a touchdown in last October’s game. Photo by Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Wildcats redshirt sophomore safety Patrick Onwuasor has been dismissed from the team following his arrest on four felony charges.
Onwuasor, who was arraigned Monday, faces four charges, according to a release from the City of Tucson: possession of a narcotic drug for sale (class 2 felony), possession of marijuana for sale (class 4 felony), possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony drug offense (class 4 felony) and possession of a narcotic paraphernalia (class 6 felony).
Here is a link to the full release.
After the city released the information, coach Rich Rodriguez issued a statement through the university: “We are aware of the situation with Patrick Onwuasor. He has been removed from the program.”
Onwuasor, 20, played in 12 games last season, making 36 tackles. About half of those stops came in a three-game stretch, including two starts, when he filled in for injured Bandit safety Jared Tevis. Onwuasor, from Inglewood, Calif., redshirted in the 2011 season as a receiver before being moved to defense in Rodriguez’s first year at Arizona.
The charges stem from an investigation into a home invasion on the 2500 block of West Anklam at about 2 a.m. on April 29. Recently, the Tucson Police Department, acting on a tip from the Beverly Hills (Calif.) Police Department, obtained a search warrant for Onwuasor’s apartment in the 800 block of East Wetmore.
According to the city: “It should be noted that Mr. Onwuasor was not implicated as being present when the home invasion incident occurred in April of 2013. As such, he was not arrested in relation to that what occurred during that incident. The investigation regarding the home invasion incident continues.”
Tevis and Tra’Mayne Bondurant, both juniors, are returning safeties at the Bandit and Spur positions. Junior Jourdon Grandon is the returning starter at free safety, although he cross-trained at cornerback this spring and is listed on the roster at the position.
Vincente Miles, who started the final three games of last season at free safety, left the team earlier this month because of undisclosed medical problems.
Arizona has no seniors at any of its three safety positions, and depth will be a major concern, made worse by Onwuasor’s dismissal. Sophomores Will Parks and Wayne Capers are primed for bigger roles in their second seasons in the program.