A University of Akron basketball player was suspended after being charged with assault and other misdemeanors in connection with a bar fight at 2 a.m. Sunday in the Merriman Valley area, police said.
Demetrius C. Treadwell, 20, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward who was a second-team All-Ohio selection in the 2009-10 season at Euclid High School, was arrested along with an acquaintance, Eriel E. Parra, 20, of Amherst, Mass.
Akron Police Capt. Dan Zampelli said officers responded to a large fight on the patio of the Dorm, 1232 Weathervane Lane, and took Treadwell and Parra into custody for allegedly beating up the bar’s disc jockey, a 22-year-old Hartville man.
A police report stated the officers observed Treadwell and Parra “punching [the disc jockey] in the head and body.”
As officers approached the two men, Treadwell tried to get away inside the crowded bar, became “extremely hostile” and had to be “taken to the ground and handcuffed,” the report stated.
Parra also was handcuffed after he got in the way of one of the officers, blocking the officer in the chest with his hands, as the officer was moving toward Treadwell.
Both men yelled obscenities, and at one point after being handcuffed, Treadwell continued to scream obscenities,” the police report stated.
Treadwell also was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct for fighting and being intoxicated. Parra was charged with obstructing official business and two counts of disorderly conduct for fighting and being intoxicated.
Zampelli said the disc jockey did not report being injured. The police report said the altercation started when a friend of Treadwell’s and Parra’s tampered with the DJ’s equipment.
Zips coach Keith Dambrot was attending an out-of-town funeral, a school official said, and could not be reached for comment.
“At this time, we cannot comment on the situation until we have all the information at hand,” UA Director of Athletics Tom Wistrcill said.
A school official said Treadwell was suspended for the Zips’ road trip Monday to West Virginia University. UA lost 77-56. In the first five games of this season, Treadwell averaged 6.6 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Beacon Journal staff writer Carol Biliczky contributed to this report.