Darta Lee, HoJo Watkins, Zarrian Holcombe Arrested After Alleged Home Robbery

Illinois football players Darta Lee, HoJo Watkins and Zarrian Holcombe were arrested Wednesday morning in Champaign, Illinois, and charged with home invasion and armed robbery.

Jeremy Werner of Scout.com first reported word of Lee's arrest and later Watkins' as well. Matt Daniels of the News-Gazette later reported Holcombe's arrest. Daniels noted the players will be arraigned on Thursday.

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN reported the alleged robbery took place at Bromley Hall, a university dormitory which is listed as the address of both Lee and Holcombe.

Per Mary Schenk of the News-Gazette, Champaign police Lt. Dave Shaffer provided further details on the incident: "Three individuals entered an apartment masked and the victim recognized one of them by voice. He pulled his mask off and tried to make light of the situation. One of them produced what we now know to be fake firearm and demanded cash."

Shaffer added that the suspects allegedly left with an undisclosed amount of money before information provided by the victim led to their arrests.

"These allegations, if true, fail to live up to the standards we expect of our student-athletes," head coach Lovie Smith said, per John Taylor of NBC Sports. "We continue to gather information and will take appropriate steps based upon what we learn.”

Lee started two games on the offensive line for the Fighting Illini as a true freshman last season, and he was expected to be in the mix for a starting spot in 2017. Daniels noted Holcombe played seven games, mostly on special teams.

Watkins had just arrived on campus in January, per Werner.

An Illinois spokesman told Werner the team was gathering information and is "allowing the process to play out."