The Syracuse lacrosse player facing charges of driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest stemming from a Monday morning incident is scheduled to be in Syracuse Criminal Court at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 7.

Kevin Drew, 21, a senior defensive midfielder, was charged by police on the 1500 block of Lancaster Avenue and was arraigned Monday, according to Criminal Court records.

A Syracuse police officer observed a 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer strike a parked Toyota at 3:31 a.m. Monday on the 400 block of Broad Street. The car was registered to men’s lacrosse head coach John Desko. The officer chased the Trailblazer at speeds of 50 miles per hour, above the area speed limit of 30 miles per hour. Once the vehicle pulled over, Drew — the only one in the car — didn’t follow commands to step out of the vehicle and face away from officers with his hands in the air, according to records.

Drew took an aggressive stance by bending his knees and squatting down, the records stated. At that time, Drew was taken to the ground and officers forced his hands behind his back so he could be handcuffed.

Drew’s eyes were bloodshot and he was slurring his speech, police noted. When asked where he was coming from, Drew told the officers he left his house to follow a woman he has been dating to see where she was going. He told police that he took his roommate’s vehicle and began to look around the university area for the woman. Fellow Syracuse lacrosse player Tim Desko, son of John Desko, is Drew’s roommate.

Police asked Drew if he had been drinking, to which he replied, ‘Yeah, a lot,’ according to court records. Drew later failed field sobriety tests and agreed to take a breathalyzer test, which revealed his BAC was .25 percent, according to records.

Police charged Drew with nine counts: resisting arrest; speeding; passing a stop sign; unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle; leaving the scene of a property damage accident; driving while intoxicated; DWI with a BAC greater than .08 percent; aggravated DWI with a BAC of .18 or greater; and failure to comply with a police order.

On Tuesday, John Desko released a statement: ‘We are aware of what happened and fortunately no one was injured. Kevin has been indefinitely suspended from the lacrosse team. We will continue to monitor this situation moving forward and handle the matter internally.’

Drew played in all 17 games for the Orange in 2011 and was named to the All-Big East Second Team. He racked up six goals, an assist, 33 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers.

jdharr04@syr.edu

Published on October 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jon: jdharr04@syr.edu