Thompson, Mainord charged with burglary

USC head football coach Steve Spurrier was forced to suspend two more players Wednesday following sophomore Demetris Summers' dismissal Tuesday.

The suspensions came after junior defensive end Moe Thompson and freshman defensive lineman Kevin Mainord were charged Wednesday with breaking into two East Quad apartments and removing electronic equipment.

Mainord was arrested Wednesday on two counts each of first-degree burglary and petit larceny. His bond hearing was set by the judge for this morning. Thompson was charged with five similar counts, including first-degree burglary. His warrant will be served as soon as he is located by law enforcement, USC spokesman Russ McKinney said.

Spurrier suspended both players immediately upon learning of the incident. The players are suspended indefinitely, pending the outcome of the investigation.

"We will let the legal process take its course and go from there," Spurrier told reporters Thursday. "As I've said before, we can't control everything these players do all the time. However, we can control who plays and who puts on a uniform."

Summers was suspended Tuesday for violating athletics department policy. News outlets reported Wednesday that the suspension was the result of a second failed drug test.

According to warrants, Mainord and Thompson entered the room of three female students at approximately 3:30 a.m. Feb. 23 and removed a TV and DVD player. The residents also reported $12 and various linen missing.

The USC police incident report said the TV was worth $150, and the DVD player was worth $100. The residents said they were in their rooms at the time of the incident and their door was locked. The items were taken from the living room, and no sign of forced entry was found.

Mainord gave a written statement to police that said "he did plan earlier that evening to enter various residents in E. Quad and steal various items."

On the same day, between 1:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., Mainord entered a fourth-floor apartment and removed a Toshiba TV/DVD/VCR combo valued at less than $1,000, according to warrants. In a written statement, he admitted to the crime with another co-defendant.

The charges were the latest in a string of events that has cast a cloud over the football team and the newly hired Spurrier. Six football players were charged in January with the theft of video and computer equipment, as well as framed photographs from Williams-Brice Stadium.

Junior Woodly Telfort and senior Brian Brownlee were charged with grand larceny. Sophomore Syvelle Newton, junior Freddie Saint-Preux, and seniors Dondrial Pinkins and Rodriques Wilson were charged with petit larceny.

Newton and Saint-Preux are expected to return to the team prior to spring practice March 16.

Thompson made the decision following last season to play his senior season at USC rather than declare for the NFL draft. As a junior, Thompson recorded 28 tackles and three sacks while playing in all 11 games. He is already scheduled to serve a one-game suspension for his part in a brawl during a season-ending loss to Clemson in November.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 265-pound Mainord is a freshman from Coalmont, Tenn.

"It's a slap in the face to our program," Spurrier said. "They are the ones who made the decisions, and they will have to suffer the consequences. Hopefully, they will get their act together so they can transfer and continue their career somewhere else."