OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma State star wide receiver Justin Blackmon was arrested early Tuesday on a suburban Dallas highway on a misdemeanor DUI complaint and his status with the Cowboys was unclear headed into the final weeks of the season.
Blackmon was arrested at 3:45 a.m. after officers used radar to determine he was driving 92 mph in a 60 mph zone along Interstate 35 in Carrollton, Texas, police spokesman Dustin Bartram said.
Coach Mike Gundy wasn’t ready to make any immediate decisions regarding discipline for Blackmon, who leads the Bowl Subdivision with 158.9 yards receiving per game. He has 62 catches for 1,112 yards and 14 touchdowns.
No. 20 Oklahoma State (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) plays at Kansas State (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday.
“I’ve got two sides of the story, but as always, in fairness to everybody involved, we gather all of the information before we make any decisions,” Gundy said on his weekly radio show Tuesday night.
“Not trying to hide anything. Not trying to put anything off, but it wouldn’t be smart for us to make an assumption or set a standard until we have all of the information, which I’m going to guess we should have it all by noon (Wednesday).”
The officer performed a field sobriety test on the 20-year-old Blackmon. Under Texas law, drivers under 21 can be arrested for having any detectable amount of alcohol in his or her system and Blackmon fell into that category, Bartram said.
Blackmon was bonded out of jail in Carrollton shortly after 8 a.m. for $375, Bartram said. Court records do not indicate if Blackmon has an attorney, but he faces a Nov. 23 court date.
Oklahoma State did not practice Monday night, and Blackmon attended the Dallas Cowboys’ game against the New York Giants.
Blackmon had three passengers in the vehicle, Bartram said, and after Blackmon’s arrest, the vehicle was released to one of the passengers who owned the vehicle. Bartram said the arrest was made without incident.
“We’re certainly on top of it. It’s an unfortunate situation and not a smart move by Justin in leaving town during a game week, so a bad mistake was involved there _ a bad decision, I should say,” Gundy said on his show.
Denton County assistant district attorney Jamie Beck said the DUI charge is a Class C misdemeanor, “like a traffic ticket.” She said it’s a fine-only offense and that Blackmon could be fined up to $500 in city court.
The university released a three-sentence statement acknowledging that Blackmon “was stopped for a traffic violation” and that Blackmon and Gundy would not comment “until the matter is resolved.”
“Until we get all of the information, it’s not fair for me to make a statement one way or the other,” Gundy said on his radio show. “It’s not fair to say exactly what will take place. We’re going to do the best we can to get the information because we want to put it behind us as quick as possible.”
“The only thing I would caution is for people to make a judgment on Justin Blackmon. I would let Justin Blackmon baby-sit my kids. He’s a good person, made a bad decision and hopefully he will learn from this and become a better person. But I don’t want him to be categorized. I’m willing to stick my neck out there for him because he is a good guy that made a bad decision.”
The 6-foot-1, 207-pound sophomore from Ardmore has emerged as a surprise star this season for the Cowboys.
A year ago, Oklahoma State star receiver Dez Bryant played in only three games and was suspended for lying to an NCAA investigator about his relationship with former NFL star Deion Sanders. He now plays for the Dallas Cowboys.
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AP College Football Writer Jeff Latzke contributed to this report.
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