A member of the Massachusetts football team was arrested Saturday morning in Stamford, Connecticut and charged with second-degree breach of peace, according to a report Monday afternoon by The Greenwich Daily Voice.
Tight end Todd Stafford, 21, a native of Greenwich, Connecticut, was arrested along with Eric Macken, 20, and William Kimball Rosato, 21, and were given court dates on July 31. Macken and Rosato were charged with third-degree assault, conspiracy to commit third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace.
According to the report, a 20-year-old man from Darien, Connecticut was waiting for an Uber ride with his girlfriend at 2 a.m. when he was approached by the three men, who “demanded” a cigarette. When the man refused to hand out his last cigarette, the victim was punched in the face by Macken, according to three Stamford police officers on patrol.
Police said the man then got up and was pushed back to the ground by Stafford before being kicked in the head by Rosato. The victim was reportedly “bleeding from his mouth and his right arm and had bruises on his face and legs.”
The victim’s girlfriend, who tried to intervene, was pushed and reportedly had a bruise on her face.
Stafford’s bond was placed at $1,000 while Macken and Rosato each received bonds set at $2,500.
Entering his redshirt sophomore season for the Minutemen, Stafford first arrived at UMass as a quarterback. He made a position change to tight end prior to the 2014 season, but after starting quarterback Blake Frohnapfel suffered a season-ending injury, Stafford saw limited action under center in the 2015 season finale against Buffalo, where he went 0-for-1 in pass attempts.
Anthony Chiusano can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @a_chiusano24.