3 Faulkner athletes charged with murder in death of another athlete

Three athletes at Faulkner University are charged with murder in the death of a football player as the four were robbing a residence.

According to affidavits in the case, Ryan Brooks, Tabias Russell, Marshall Wall III and Ronnie Williams committed second degree robbery at Franklin Williams' house Wednesday evening.

Franklin Williams was home during the disturbance and fired a shot in self-defense towards the four. The shot hit Brooks, who was pronounced dead at the scene. If you're wondering why the other three are being charged with murder, we'll let WSFA explain the Alabama law.

From WSFA:

A space on the affidavits for 'damage done or property attacked' is filled out with the listing "narcotics".

Wall, Williams and Russell face the murder charge, despite not being the ones who pulled the trigger, because Brooks was killed during the commission of a robbery attempt in which they are suspects. [Read State Statute Section 13A-6-2] They were arrested Thursday and transported to the Montgomery County Detention Facility where they are being held on bonds of $75,000 each.

Brooks was listed as a freshman fullback on the Faulkner junior varsity team. Both Ronnie Williams and Russell are listed as JV defensive linemen. Wall is a freshman midfielder on the soccer team. All four are 19 years old.

"In its 72-year history, Faulkner University has never had a shooting involving a student," Faulkner President Billy D. Hilyer said during a press conference on Thursday via Al.com. "The safety and well-being of our students is paramount at this university."

According to WSFA, Faulkner University officials deny the robbery had anything to do with a hazing ritual. Faulkner is an NAIA school located in Montgomery, Ala. It has an enrollment of 2,400. According to Faulkner's Vice President of Student Services, the school had no known issues involving the four before Wednesday night.

"Our records show there have been no real issues with the students in question," Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson said.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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