Police: MTSU players taped assault

MTSU's J.D. Jones is accused of assaulting an ex-girlfriend while teammates videotaped it. (Daily News Journal)

Authorities say that Middle Tennessee State football player J.D. Jones choked his former girlfriend while teammates videotaped and narrated the incident, reports the Daily News Journal.

Jones, a 20-year-old defensive tackle, is also accused of choking the same victim, 19-year-old MTSU student Ronni Cantrell, until she agreed to give him money to buy marijuana.

This is among numerous incidents that occurred between October 2012 and May 2013 and resulted in his arrest on two counts of domestic aggravated assault.

"These are obviously troubling charges and these players will remain suspended while Public Safety and Judicial Affairs continue their investigations," athletic director Chris Massaro said in a statement on Monday.

Two other MTSU players, cornerback Rodney O’Neal and defensive tackle Marcus Robinson, were charged with two counts of aiding and abetting. Jones is held on $60,000 bond, O’Neal on $40,000 and Robinson on $5,000. They are due in court on Aug. 29, the same day as MTSU’s season-opening game against Western Carolina.

All three MTSU players, who are redshirt sophomores, were arrested on Saturday and suspended from the football team.

More from the Daily News Journal:

An arrest warrant for aiding and abetting was issued for Molly Roos, another 19-year-old MTSU student, who was present at the videotaped incident, according to the police report. Iman Smith, a redshirt freshman linebacker for MTSU, was also listed as a suspect and present for at least one of the alleged assaults, according to the police report, but he has not been charged with a crime.