STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University senior linebacker Chris Hughes was arrested last month on his third domestic violence charge in a two-year span.
Hughes was arrested in his hometown of Mobile, Ala., on May 24 for third-degree assault and third-degree domestic violence. The arrest report provided by the Mobile County Sheriffs Office shows Hughes is still in Mobile County jail awaiting his court date July 10. This charge is the fifth time Hughes has been arrested for a misdemeanor violent crime since his first arrest March 31, 2010.
On June 21, MSU officials announced Hughes was suspended indefinitely from the school’s football team, but the its statement didn’t say why Hughes was being suspended. It also didn’t provide a comment from Hughes or MSU coach Dan Mullen.
Mobile Police Corporal Christopher Levy told the Mobile Press Register the charge stems from an incident in which Hughes, 21, is alleged to have struck his girlfriend multiple times in the face.
Mullen had no comment to The Dispatch on Thursday about Hughes. MSU officials confirmed Thursday evening through official word from Mullen that Hughes no longer is a member of MSU’s football team.
Hughes, who is from Mobile, served the five days in jail in September 2011, which included MSU’s season opener at the University of Memphis, for his second arrest on a domestic violence charge. He was released Sept. 6, 2011. Hughes was one of five MSU players suspended for the Memphis game for what MSU officials called “a violation of team policy.” In that September 2011 incident, Hughes was arrested at a Mobile residence after allegedly hitting a 17-year-old family member in the eye May 23, 2010. According to the district attorney, Hughes struck a 36-year-old family member repeatedly May 24, 2010, during an argument about a car.
On May 28, 2011, Hughes was charged and released on bail on his first domestic violence charge. Twice in 2010 (March 31 and May 5), Hughes was arrested and charged with third-degree assault.
Hughes had 31 tackles in 2012 as a backup linebacker. Last week’s announcement marked Hughes’ second suspension by the MSU football team. The Southeastern Conference also suspended Hughes for an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit when he was a freshman.
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