Prank lands IU football player in jail

Blake Powers, the former starting quarterback for the IU football team, was arrested Monday on preliminary charges of Class A misdemeanor battery.\nAt 11:05 p.m., Monday, Powers, 22, a senior who is now a tight end, was in a black 2004 Jeep with an Illinois license plate while at the intersection of 10th and Walnut streets, said IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger, reading from a police report. While on North Walnut Street, the vehicle turned onto 10th Street, where Powers, who was seated at the rear-driver side of the vehicle, threw the water-filled balloon at IUPD Officer Paul Wampler, who was turning west at the intersection, Minger said. Wampler was in a private, unmarked vehicle, but was still in uniform.\nWampler had just completed a 3 to 11 p.m. shift and was returning home when the balloon hit his left ear. After being hit with the balloon, Wampler turned his vehicle around to chase the Jeep.\nAccording to the report, the suspects sped up and turned onto Grant Street, then onto Cottage Grove Avenue, where the Jeep turned into the driveway of a home on the 300 block of that road. The Jeep, according to Wampler’s report, attempted to drive into the backyard of the residence but could not because a fence was in the way.\nOnce the vehicle stopped, Wampler got out of his car, and as he was approaching the Jeep, heard one of the males say, “It’s a cop,” Minger said.\nIUPD Officer Garth Van Leeuwen, who had also just finished the same 3 to 11 p.m. shift, saw Wampler turn his vehicle around. He followed Wampler in another personal, unmarked vehicle.\nWhen Van Leeuwen arrived at the scene, he and Wampler advised all four men to step out of the vehicle. Van Leeuwen then told the men that they had hit Wampler with the water balloon. The men apologized to Van Leeuwen, maintaining that they did not realize they were throwing the water balloon at a police officer, Minger said.\nAccording to the report, Powers confessed to throwing the balloon as Van Leeuwen was reading the men their Miranda rights.\nMinger said the officers gave the men portable breath tests for alcohol and found no signs of intoxication. \nPowers was handcuffed and taken to the Monroe County Jail. The other three males were released.\nPolice found two buckets of water-filled balloons in the back seat of the Jeep and a bag with about 50 water balloons in the front seat of the car, Minger said.\nWampler complained of a ringing in his ear while filing the police report, Minger said.\n“They thought it would be fun to hit people or cars with the water balloons and didn’t think it would hurt anybody,” Minger said.\nJeff Keag, a spokesman for IU Athletics, released a statement about the arrest, saying, “We are aware of the situation and any team disciplinary action will be handled internally.”\nPowers’ arrest comes after senior linebacker Adam McClurg and senior offensive lineman Sean Edmundson were arrested for theft after refusing to pay taxi cab fare July 15 in Greenwood, Ind.