Text 
Football star eludes warrants, competitors
By TIM GURRISTERBryant Eteuati has been eluding warrants almost as long as he's been eluding defenders on the college football field.
The most serious Davis County felony warrants came to light during an Oct. 22 traffic stop in Ogden, but he also has faced other misdemeanor charges in both Weber and Davis counties.
Eteuati has a scheduling hearing today in 2nd District Court in Farmington on charges of aggravated assault and leaving the scene of an accident, in which, police say, he struck several people with his car July 1 in a park in Kaysville.
The Weber State University football star is also charged with communication fraud from his days working as a sales clerk in June 2006 at The Buckle in the Layton Hills Mall.
He is accused of letting friends steal merchandise valued at more than $1,000 while pretending to ring them up at a cash register.
Although unrelated to the melee at the park on the same date, another warrant sought Eteuati's arrest, this time out of Davis County Justice Court, for driving on a suspended license on July 1.
He was sentenced and ordered to pay fines, but according to the court, he never did.
In addition to the felony charges, Eteuati has appeared a number of times in justice courts in Weber and Davis counties. Justice courts handle only class B and C misdemeanors, which can include most alcohol violations.
Justice court records show:
* Eteuati, who is now 21, was arrested in February 2007 in Ogden on charges of being a minor in possession of alcohol at a party on 16th Street, according to Ogden Justice Court records.
He paid a fine, roughly $400, and the case was eventually dismissed in a plea in abeyance.
However, the dismissal took some time. A warrant was issued for failure to complete the terms of his probation, chiefly paying off the fine.
Eteuati was briefly jailed March 12 this year in Millard County when the warrant turned up in a records check during a traffic stop. After paying the final $50, he was released.
* Eteuati was arrested by Ogden police in March 2007 after he was observed "concealing merchandise from Dillard's in the Newgate Mall," according to Ogden Justice Court records.
Value of the items taken was less than $300, leading to a class B misdemeanor charge of retail theft.
But because he was hiding the stolen items in a foot locker he carried with him, Ogden City Prosecutor Greg Burdett said a charge of possession of burglary tools was added, a class B misdemeanor.
Eteuati agreed to a plea bargain, and the tools charge was dismissed.
However, he fell behind on the probation terms in that case, chiefly the payment of the fine, leading to another warrant that turned up in the same March 12, 2008, traffic stop in Millard County.
He paid the final $309 on that case at the time, along with the final $50 on the alcohol charge, and was released.
He still has failed to complete a court-ordered preventive education course on theft from that case. He re-enrolled Oct. 28, according to the Ogden courts' records.
* Eteuati was arrested March 12, 2007, in Riverdale on misdemeanor charges of driving on a suspended license and driving without insurance.
The latter charge was dismissed in a plea bargain, according to Riverdale Justice Court records. Eteuati was fined $602.
The actual offense occurred Sept. 24, 2005, and he was jailed briefly on failure-to-appear bench warrants when he was arrested in March 2007, according to court records.
* A South Ogden Justice Court clerk said Eteuati had a 2006 traffic offense listed, which had been taken care of, and a 2008 traffic case that was still pending in that court.
Both are minor moving violations, the clerk said, and not alcohol offenses or unauthorized driving.
* Eteuati also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Clinton's Justice Court in July 2006 and had a speeding ticket there in 2003. He paid fines, and the cases were closed.
"No, we weren't aware of those (additional charges)," WSU Coach Ron McBride said Wednesday afternoon.
Eteuati has twice been named to the Big Sky Conference's all-conference team, and he led the nation in all-purpose yards in 2007, averaging 207.5 per game.
Currently suspended from the team, Eteuati began the season as WSU's all-time leader in punt returns, 93, and punt return yards, 915.
Weber State Athletic Director Jerry Graybeal also said he was unaware of the additional charges.
"No, coach McBride would have told me if he was aware. He's always had full disclosure with me about his players."
Reporter Jesse Fruhwirth contributed to this article.
Add Your Comment
I have a lot of love for this kid. He really is a great person, who has simply had a bad string of luck. Don't judge him based on this report alone. Keep ya head up Man... & get those damn fines cleared up, so u can get these cops off ur ass.
Please read our posting guidelines before reporting a comment.