Butterfield arrested for domestic assault

Player second on team arrested this year

By Juana Summers

Published Oct. 19, 2007

MU basketball forward Darryl Butterfield was arrested Wednesday night on suspicion of third-degree domestic assault. Following his arrest, basketball coach Mike Anderson suspended Butterfield from the team.

Columbia Police Department Capt. Stephen Monticelli said between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 17, officers responded to an incident that occurred at an apartment off of Campusview Drive. There, officers spoke with Butterfield's former girlfriend and her roommate, Monticelli said.

"They indicated that Mr. Butterfield came to the apartment," Monticelli said. "They got into a heated argument over some property, and she reported that he struck her in the face."

Monticelli said officers could visually confirm the victim's injury.

She was not transported to the hospital. Butterfield was not at the apartment when police arrived, Monticelli said.

Officers contacted Butterfield by phone, and he was arrested on charges of third-degree domestic assault when he met them at the intersection of Hitt and Locust streets.

Monticelli said two additional warrants for driving under suspension and failure to obey a law enforcement officer were out for Butterfield.

"He was arrested for the domestic violence, and then when they ran him, then the other two warrants were discovered," Monticelli said.

At time of press, Butterfield was still being held in the Boone County Jail with his bail set at $1,600.

According to the athletic department's Web site, Butterfield averaged 4.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game during the 2006-2007 season.

The Web site also names Butterfield as one of the team's top defenders.

Butterfield will be suspended indefinitely pending continued investigation of the incident, Anderson said in a news release from the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Athletics department spokesman David Reiter declined to comment further on the matter.

Butterfield's suspension comes after MU center Kalen Grimes was arrested July 17. Grimes was arrested after a fight in the parking of a Dairy Queen in Florissant.

At the restaurant, Grimes was arrested for reportedly striking another individual in the face with the butt of a gun. Grimes was released from the team in relation to the incident.