Wilmont, Monroe released after 'misunderstanding'

Following IU's win against Purdue on Saturday, senior Lewis Monroe and junior Rod Wilmont found themselves being questioned, but not about their decisions on the court. \nThe two basketball players became entangled in a misunderstanding when an IU Police Department officer pulled over Wilmont, who was driving Monroe's car, for a traffic violation on 17th Street, said IUPD Sgt. Andy Stephenson, citing a police report. \nStephenson said the officer pulled Wilmont over in a green 1997 Plymouth for a traffic violation. After entering information into a database, Stephenson said, the officer learned the car had been reported stolen in Madison, Wis., by Monroe's mother \nVeola Turner. Because Wilmont did not have any of the car's paperwork, the officer called Monroe to the scene at around 8:30 p.m. \n"Lewis came down and had paperwork, and apparently the car was registered to his mother," Stephenson said. "Then I spoke to the Madison Police Department, and they indeed said it was confirmed (that car) had been stolen that same day."\nShortly after, Stephenson said IUPD was notified that Monroe's mother had retracted the report one hour before the traffic stop was made, but it had not yet been removed from the database. \nAlthough Wilmont and Monroe were detained for a short period of time, they were released at the scene after officers concluded the pair had not stolen the car, Stephenson said.\nTurner said the car belongs to Monroe and she reported it stolen because of "a personal reason" between she and her son. She declined to explain the circumstances in \nmore detail. \nShe said she received a phone call from her son about the issue, but she cleared the tension by explaining everything to police.\n"I told them what happened and straightened everything out," Turner said. "Something went down that was personal between me and my son ... It is his car. It wasn't stolen. Everything is OK."\nTurner went on to describe the entire ordeal as "just a misunderstanding." \nAssociate Media Relations Director Aaron Jordan declined to comment on the incident. A spokesman from the Madison Police Department had no information to release at press time.