Star High School Football Player Arrested For Drive By

A talented athlete with a path out instead is in jail for his part in a gang-related drive by.

By KURT HELIN

Updated 11:00 AM PDT, Tue, Aug 25, 2009

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The star running back for Lakewood High School, who averaged 161 yards a game and scored 18 touchdowns in the nine games he played last season, is currently sitting in Juvenile Hall. He will miss his entire senior season. He will miss the chance to play in college.

He was arrested as part of a gang-related drive-by shooting last Friday night, sources confirmed to the Long Beach Press Telegram.

Lt. Robert Lawrence of the Compton Sheriff's Station on Monday confirmed that one adult and one juvenile were arrested for a drive-by shooting that took place Friday at 2:25p.m. in the 1100 block of Acacia Avenue.

"Nobody was actually hit, but there were two people arrested," Lawrence said. "One was an adult, the other was a juvenile. And there was an assault weapon taken into custody. As of right now, it still has to go through the District Attorney's Office to see if he is going to be filing charges."

Lawrence said the incident appeared to be gang-related.

"It was a gang shooting," he said. "The suspects were trying to shoot at a rival gang. As they were trying to get away, deputies were able to pursue them and locate them. At least two of the three; one suspect is outstanding."

Stone fits a sad and all to common pattern in the inner city areas of Los Angeles — a youth with a skill that could lift him out of the area but who was pulled in by the pervasive gang lifestyle.

Stone, a 5’11” 200 pound running back, was the core of Lakewood’s offense last season. He missed four games for academic reasons, but in the nine he played rushed for 1,450 yards and 18 touchdowns. He is a combination of an elusive runnier but one with strength, and he also had soft hands and can catch balls out of the backfield.

All of that had given him a chance — a number of Pac-10 schools as well as places like Colorado, Utah and San Deigo State were said to have some interest in Stone as he headed into his senior season. Although, due to academic issues, junior college may have been his ultimate destination. Still, it was a path out and to a better life.

Now it is moot — he has been let go from the Lakewood team. The pull of gangs proved too strong for Stone to evade, even with his amazing moves and quickness. Sadly, that is all too common a tale in much of Los Angeles.