University of Charleston President Ed Welch and basketball coach Mark Downey both confirm one of the three now former UC players charged in a Charleston robbery had a criminal past.
Downey said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference that junior Robbie Dreher faced a criminal charge following an incident while he was a player at Winthrop and ended up pleading guilty to one count of assault and battery.
“The attorneys that we talked to thought they would have won the case but he wanted to go back to school so they pled the case down. He got one year probation, that’s all,” Downey said.
Dreher and a teammate at Winthrop were both accused of raping a woman in their on-campus apartment. They were charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Reports indicate Dreher voluntarily terminated his scholarship at Winthrop.
UC Coach Downey and President Welch both say lots of investigation was done on Dreher before he was allowed to come to UC. Welch went as far to say it was “much more than we’ve ever done for anyone else we’ve admitted.”
They also both say Dreher, Terrell Lipkins and Quincy Washington had caused no problems on campus or on the team since transferring to UC from junior colleges last fall.
All three face robbery charges after Charleston police allege they jumped two men outside a downtown bar Sunday morning and robbed them. The three are also “persons of interest” in a Charleston robbery and beating of a Boone County man from last week.
Coach Downey says he spoke to the players very briefly Tuesday night.
“I just told them to cooperate and go down there and turn themselves in and cooperate and do whatever they asked,” Downey said.
Welch moved quickly Wednesday to kick all three off the basketball team and out of their dorm rooms. He says further action, like removing them from school, could come at a later date. He stressed the charges are currently allegations.
Both Welch and Downey apologized to the university, its community and the city.
“I would like apologize to everyone involved with the school and our fans. I’m around these kids quite a bit and I take responsibility. I apologize for that,” the coach said.
President Welch said he still supports Downey as UC basketball coach.
‘I’ve been in the locker room several times and I’ve heard the coach on almost every one of those occasions reiterate to the entire team what behavior he desires and how he wants them to conduct themselves,” President Welch said.
All three men remain in the South Central Regional Jail.