The Chevy Chase lacrosse player accused of murdering his University of Virginia girlfriend had a series of brushes with the law before his arrest Monday, according to police documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.
A 2008 Palm Beach County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office report describes an incident in which an angry George Huguely V had to be rescued from the Atlantic Ocean after he jumped from a 40-foot yacht during a heated confrontation with his father.
Huguely, 22, had two previous booze-related arrests, one in Palm Beach County and one that involved a violent attack on a female police officer outside a Washington & Lee University fraternity in Lexington, Va.
New details continued to emerge in the death of 22-year-old women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love. Huguely, a former All-America lacrosse player at Landon School in Bethesda has been charged with first-degree murder in her death.
A Charlottesville police detective found a University of Virginia lacrosse T-shirt with red stains on it and a letter addressed to Love during a search of Huguely’s apartment on Monday, according to The Charlottesville Daily Progress, which obtained police records that were later sealed.
Investigators also confiscated two white Apple laptop computers, a green spiral notebook, socks, a bathroom rug, a shower curtain and a pair of blue shorts.
Charlottesville police Chief Tim Longo said examiners concluded Love’s autopsy on Wednesday and her body was being transported back to her Cockeysville, Md., home.
Local police agencies in the area said Wednesday they could not confirm accounts from students in Huguely and Love’s circle of friends that she perceived him as a physical threat in the weeks before her death, and that the couple had a public altercation in the past month.
The university announced that both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams would participate in upcoming NCAA tournaments, despite the tragedy.
Huguely was not the only member of the team who had alcohol-related brushes with the law.
Eight of the team’s 41 players have been charged with booze-related offenses — including underage possession of alcohol, using a fake ID and driving while intoxicated — while enrolled in the university, according to the Washington Post.
The new revelations about Huguely detailed in Florida police records add to the portrait of a troubled youth of privilege.
On Dec. 29, 2008, during the family’s stay at their South Florida winter home, Huguely got into a “very heated” argument with his father and cousin on the 40-foot fishing boat known as The Reel Deal. There were no blows, but “lots of yelling and screaming,” deputies said.
Huguely wanted to go back to the beach. His father said he would take him home, but not to the beach, according to the report. The younger Huguely then dove into the ocean and tried to swim the quarter-mile back to shore.
Huguely’s father radioed for help, and a passing vessel picked up the son. Police found no physical evidence of violence, and no arrest was made.
It was Huguely’s second run-in with police in Palm Beach County, where the family has a $2 million estate in Manalapan. One year earlier, Huguely was charged with possession of alcohol by a minor.
A month before Huguely jumped from the fishing boat, police in Lexington had to use a Taser to restrain him outside a fraternity party. Huguely was found stumbling through traffic, and when an officer tried to get him to call a friend for a ride home, he became belligerent and threatened to kill the female officer.
Huguely pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and public swearing/intoxication. University president John Casteen said the school officials were not aware of Huguely’s arrest.
