Qwenton J. Freeman, 22, allegedly threw a beer bottle at a man standing outside a bar in downtown Missoula early Sunday. He was subsequently expelled from the team for refusing to follow “disciplinary guidelines,” according to UM officials.
Freeman appeared Monday morning before Municipal Court Judge Don Louden and denied the allegations. He also declined to comment for this article.
California authorities allege that Freeman witnessed Wilson shoot a man to death earlier this month in Lancaster, Calif. Both men are originally from Southern California.
Freeman's refusal to cooperate has drawn the ire of Los Angeles County homicide detectives, who were in Missoula last week investigating the murder and questioning UM football players.
According to UM officials, Freeman, formerly a Grizzly cornerback, was under strict orders to cooperate with law enforcement officers investigating the murder. However, Freeman's attorney advised his client against speaking with detectives.
Meanwhile, local police are investigating a separate weekend incident involving Freeman, who allegedly slapped a 24-year-old Missoula woman early Saturday outside of the same downtown bar where the alleged bottle-throwing incident occurred.
The woman and her sister were both involved in the altercation outside Stockman's Bar, and each gave statements to police on Monday. They've both asked that their names be witheld from news articles while the investigation continues.
According to the woman, Freeman became disrespectful toward her and an argument ensued. He then spit on the woman, she said, and she spit back. Freeman finally slapped the woman on the right side of her face, she said.
“He reached around the bouncer and struck me with an open hand,” she said. When the woman's sister tried to intervene, Freeman allegedly grabbed her arm. Police later took photographs of the bruises.
Freeman also has active warrants for his arrest from a similar incident in Tucson, Ariz., where he went to play football for the University of Arizona in the fall of 2005. He left Arizona after being convicted of assault and criminal trespass, and joined the UM football team last summer.
According to University of Arizona police reports, Freeman was arrested in April 2006 after shoving and threatening a woman inside the campus dormitory where she worked. He then became combative with campus police officers, who cited him for assault, disorderly conduct, intimidation, criminal trespass and resisting arrest, all misdemeanors.
He was convicted on the assault charge in Pima County Consolidated Justice Courts and was subsequently sentenced to a diversion program under the University of Arizona's supervision. A diversion program is similar to community service. However, Freeman did not complete the required community service; thus, the ongoing warrants for his arrest.
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