NFL NOTEBOOK: Packers RB thwarts robbery
Published 11:51 pm Tuesday, June 3, 2008
PACKERS: Running back Noah Herron thwarted a would-be burglar by hitting him with a bed post during a break-in at his home.
Brown County Sheriff Dennis Kocken said Tuesday that the break-in happened late last Friday and the injured the intruder remained hospitalized but is expected to recover.
“Noah Herron used necessary, reasonable and justifiable force in protecting his life and property,” Kocken said in a statement. “Herron, the victim in this random home invasion, is cooperating with law enforcement.”
Herron, 26, missed all of last season with a knee injury.
Chief Deputy John Gossage said Herron called police at 11:19 p.m. Friday after he heard glass breaking in the lower level of his suburban Green Bay home. He said an unknown number of people had entered the house.
One of the intruders entered Herron’s bedroom, and Herron hit the person with a post he had unscrewed from his bed, Gossage said. Herron was not injured.
The injured burglar was taken to a hospital, and a second suspect was arrested outside the home, Gossage said.
Stolen property and a vehicle believed taken earlier Friday from another home were found near Herron’s home, Gossage said. The two people in custody are suspects in numerous burglaries and home invasions throughout Brown County, he said.
BILLS: Police investigators are growing impatient with Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch and his failure to meet with them more than three days after his vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run accident.
Buffalo Police Department spokesman Mike DeGeorge suggested Tuesday that Lynch could face an obstruction of justice charge if he doesn’t cooperate. He said Lynch’s lawyer finally contacted investigators on Monday, but a meeting has not been set.
DeGeorge said evidence and witness statements point to the player’s 2008 Porsche SUV as the vehicle that sped off after striking a pedestrian early Saturday at an intersection near Buffalo’s bar district. The victim, identified as a 27-year-old woman from suburban Toronto, had a bruised hip and a cut that required seven stitches, DeGeorge said.
TEXANS: Houston general manager Rick Smith received a four-year contract extension Tuesday, keeping him with the team at least through 2012. Smith was hired in 2006 and is the second general manager in Texans history. He spent 10 years with coach Gary Kubiak while the coach was offensive coordinator of the Broncos.
COWBOYS: Team owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday that receiver Terry Glenn failed a physical after the season and still hasn’t passed it because of problems with the right knee that was operated on twice last season. Jones wants Glenn to agree to accept a $500,000 injury settlement if he can’t play this season. His base salary is $1.74 million.
REDSKINS: Safety LaRon Landry rejoined the team for offseason practices Tuesday, following his unexcused absence the day before.
“I was at home taking care of a lot of family issues,” the second-year safety said.
Landry and veteran cornerback Shawn Springs were the only non-injured players absent when the team reassembled this week for two weeks of practices, the last sessions before training camp begins next month.
EAGLES: Cornerback Lito Sheppard skipped the team’s voluntary workout on Tuesday amid dissatisfaction with his contract and uncertainty about his role on the team. Sheppard, a two-time Pro Bowler, lost his starting position at left cornerback when the team signed free agent Asante Samuel, who agreed to a six-year, $57 million deal in the offseason. Sheppard, who had been a four-year starter, is unhappy with the five-year contract extension he signed in 2004, well before he was eligible for free agency.
SAINTS: New Orleans signed veteran cornerback Jerametrius Butler and center Marquay Love on Tuesday, two days after the free agents took part in the team’s three-day minicamp on a tryout basis. The Saints needed an additional defensive back during minicamp because Mike McKenzie and Jason David, the starting cornerbacks in 2007, were limited by injuries during practice.
PETE JOHNSON: The former Cincinnati Bengals fullback has been found guilty in Urbana, Ohio, of writing a bad check to buy a pickup truck and faces up to one year in prison and a fine of $2,500. He was acquitted by a jury of a second charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle. Johnson, 53, will be sentenced July 21. Johnson played for Ohio State from 1973-1976 and with the Bengals until 1983.
Associated Press
