Police say two Florida State football players were involved in an incident in December that led to the shooting death of one of the player's half-brother.
Running back Mario Pender and offensive lineman Ira Denson are the players. Denson isn't currently on FSU's roster, but he still is enrolled at the school. Pender will be a third-year sophomore in the fall, but he hasn't played a snap at FSU. Denson redshirted as a true freshman last season.
Pender's half-brother, Tim Pruitt, was shot and killed Dec. 22 in Tallahassee in a dispute over a missing debit card, the Tallahassee Democrat reported Friday morning.
The newspaper reported that Pender told Tallahassee police that Denson had used his missing debit card to make purchases. The police report says that on Dec. 22, Pender and Denson made plans to meet to settle the issue, and when Denson arrived at Pender's apartment, Pruitt went down to meet Denson and another man. At the end of the meeting, that other man fired shots, and at least one hit Pruitt in the head.
Police arrested that other man, Tarron Addison, 20, Thursday and charged him with premeditated murder.
Thursday afternoon, after a FSU conditioning drill, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher met with the media. Denson's status came up, and Fisher said that while Denson wasn't currently on the roster, he is still enrolled at the school.
"We're going to evaluate how he does," Fisher told reporters. "He's got to continue to do well; we want him to do well academically. If he does, he does. If he doesn't, we'll have to adjust."
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
