Darius Commissiong Charged with Animal Cruelty, Dismissed from ECU
East Carolina Pirates defensive lineman Darius Commissiong has been dismissed from the program after he was charged with felony animal cruelty, according to ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy.
According to the Greenville, North Carolina, Police Department, officers responded to a report of a possible disturbance early Friday morning. Upon entry into the apartment, the officers found a deceased one-year-old Shih Tzu on the premises.
The police report stated that, following a necropsy, officers from Animal Protective Services discovered the dog suffered three cracked ribs; hemorrhaging in the abdomen, left eye and brain; fractured teeth; a fractured femur; and a ruptured liver that was the result of trauma.
Police arrested Commissiong based on witness statements. He is being held on a $25,000 secured bond.
Greenville PD noted "he is known to the victim and this was not a random incident."
Head football coach Scottie Montgomery spoke about the decision Friday, per WECT-TV6:
"While we always want to be in a position to guide young people, unacceptable behavior such as this clearly crosses the line of humanity and simply will not be tolerated. There's a level of accountability which defines our program, athletics department and East Carolina University, and any conduct which isn't congruent with those values is unwelcome here.
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The 21-year-old transferred to ECU before the start of the 2015 season and played a minor rotational role along the Pirates defensive line during his first and only year with the program.
Before that, the former 3-star recruit was dismissed from Georgia Tech in 2014 after violating the school's student-athlete code of conduct. Commissiong then used Iowa Western Community College as a stopgap destination before committing to ECU.
Recruit information courtesy of 247Sports.
