Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas

Stirgus arrested, suspended from team

Denton player allegedly called in bomb threat

07:20 AM CST on Thursday, January 25, 2007

By Jeff Andrews / Staff Writer

Denton forward Howard Stirgus has been suspended indefinitely from the boys basketball team after being arrested late Tuesday night.

Howard Stirgus

He remained in a city jail late Wednesday for allegedly making a false alarm or report of an emergency and abusing the 911 system.

Denton Independent School District athletic director Ken Purcell said the senior will not play for the Broncos until the district has completed its own investigation, and he declined further comment citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which states a school cannot release any information from a student’s education record without written permission from the parent or eligible student.

Broncos head coach Harold Jackson declined to comment.

“We’re following our student code of conduct as far as disciplinary procedure goes,” said Sharon Cox, Denton Independent School District spokeswoman.

According to the police report, Stirgus allegedly began calling Denton High School at about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday while the school was hosting a doubleheader between the Denton and Guyer girls and boys basketball teams, claiming there was a bomb in the building and it would detonate in a matter of minutes.

Stirgus, 18, was not allowed to play in the game because he was suspended from school for three days for fighting. According to the report, Stirgus admitted making the calls but didn’t say much else.

The girls game, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., was delayed by more than an hour while police and fire officials searched the school. Both games were played Tuesday night, and the Broncos beat Guyer, 64-63, without Stirgus.

Stirgus’ absence will be hard on the Broncos, who already lack size inside. The 6-2 forward averages 21.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. The Broncos are 2-1 on the season without Stirgus, including Tuesday’s win. He previously missed two tournament games in December for undisclosed reasons, but was not injured.

Against Guyer on Tuesday, Aaron Smiley and Kevin Roberts absorbed a lot of Stirgus’ playing time. Smiley recorded eight points.

Stirgus, a New Orleans native, joined the Broncos in the fall of 2005 after fleeing from Hurricane Katrina.

JEFF ANDREWS can be reached at 940-566-6873. His e-mail address is jandrews@dentonrc.com

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