An Auburn lacrosse player made national headlines after allegedly stealing a truck with a passenger inside and hitting nine vehicles during his getaway attempt Saturday, Sept. 21, in Baton Rouge, La.
According to the police report, sophomore Zachary Burgess jumped in a parked truck left running by its owner, Dalton McLean, in the parking lot of Fred's Bar and Grill at 2:24 a.m. Saturday.
Burgess then allegedly drove around the bar's parking lot with a passenger who was held against her will.
Monique Giarrusso said Burgess forcibly prevented her from escaping from the vehicle while he was leaving the parking lot.
"He wouldn't speak to me, he wouldn't look at me and it was like he was just in the zone," Giarrusso told WVLA News in Baton Rouge.
The police report said Giarrusso was forcibly held in the truck because of Burgess' erratic and dangerous driving.
"When he tried to flee the parking lot there were several cars blocking the way," Cpl. Don Coppola with the Baton Rouge Police Department told WVLA News. "He began ramming into the parked cars."
According to the report, after hitting nine vehicles, Burgess parked the stolen truck and attempted to flee the scene before being detained by McLean and several other witnesses until the police arrived.
Police records indicate Burgess was arrested and charged with one count of auto theft, one count of simple kidnapping and nine counts of hit and run.
While his list of charges is no laughing matter, it was Burgess's post-arrest remarks that garnered national attention.
"One of his statements was that he wanted to see what it was like to be a Grand Theft Auto individual," Cpl. L'Jean McKneely with the Baton Rouge Police Department told WVLA News. "What it felt like, I guess, to take a car and strike several vehicles at a high rate of speed."
The University issued the following official statement concerning Burgess:
"Federal privacy laws prevent us from commenting about any one particular student. However, Auburn's Code of Student Discipline does not tolerate violations of the law, and a process is in place to handle situations when students do so."
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