Sports
Report: Former Ohio Linebacker Noah Keller Arrested
< < Back to report-former-ohio-linebacker-noah-keller-arrestedFormer Ohio University linebacker Noah R. Keller turned himself into law enforcement officials Monday afternoon in his hometown of Kearney, Neb., in connection to charges of conspiracy to commit felony criminal mischief.
Keller and two other men are accused of vandalizing Memorial Field and causing over $90,000 worth of damages during the early hours on Nov. 1. Only Keller and Christopher J. Stover, also a Kearney native, have been charged in the crimes, but a third man is suspected to have been involved. If convicted, the men could face up to five years in prison.
Warrants were issued in Buffalo County for the two men Friday afternoon, according to the Kearney Hub. Stover turned himself in later that day, and Keller turned himself in Monday evening.
According to court documents, Keller and the two other men left a bar in the early hours of Nov. 1. From there, they headed towards Memorial Field in Stover’s pickup truck. After unsuccessfully trying to ram the gates to the baseball field open with the truck, the men bought a pair of bolt cutters from a local Wal-Mart and returned to the stadium where they cut the chains on the stadium gates and drove onto the field.
Once on the field, the men apparently did multiple donuts on the infield and outfield turf, tearing it up and causing significant damage to the field. Keller reportedly recorded the whole series of events on his cell phone’s camera.
Authorities we’re tipped off to the men’s involvement after finding a letter of recommendation for Stover at the scene of the crime. Upon further investigation they were able to match black paint scuffs found at the scene to scratches on Stover’s truck.
After seizing the truck for evidence authorities also found a Wal-Mart receipt for a pair of bolt cutters. They also obtained video surveillance from the stores cameras that identified the three men. Search warrants for all three men’s phones revealed videos, pictures and text messages documenting the incident.
Keller was a standout linebacker and a three-time team captain at Ohio University from 2007 to 2011, finishing his career with 438 total tackles. Keller was signed as an undrafted free agent by the St. Louis Rams in April, but was cut from the team in late August.