Coach Under Investigation
Daniel Belis
/
Courier
PCC Head Football Coach Kenny Lawler walks off the field at Saddle Back College on October 20, 2007.
Lawler was recently put on paid administrative leave.
Student Detained in Counterfeit Bill Case
Allan Santiago
Opinion Editor
A PCC student was detained for questioning at
about 2:40 p.m. on Monday on suspicion of possess¬
ing a counterfeit $10 bill.
According to police, Vincent Lemas was allegedly
making a purchase at the Lancer’s Pass cafeteria when
the cashier found the $10 bill he used to be false after
marking it to check the paper’s validity.
Officers Jeremy Gump and Jose Arechiga quickly
responded and questioned Lemas just outside
Lancer’s Pass. Soon after,
they escorted Lemas in
handcuffs to the campus
police station at T-130.
The Secret Service was
contacted, whereupon the
campus police were told to
gather all of Lemas’ informa¬
tion for further investigation,
according to Lt. Brad Young.
Afterward, Lemas was
released.
The Secret Service was
“too busy” to come in to
investigate, said Young.
Use of counterfeit currency
is a federal offence, which
requires the campus police to
contact the Secret Service.
According to Young,
Lemas said that he had
received the money from his
mother earlier that day and
that he did not know it was counterfeit.
This is the second incident involving a student
allegedly using a counterfeit $10 bill, according to
Ту
Yu, director of food and beverage services. The first
occurred at the beginning of the semester, he said.
Because both cases of counterfeit money involved a
$10 bill, bills of that denomination will be scrutinized
thoroughly. All cashiers can now be seen checking all
bills above $10 as well.
After the first incident, cashiers on campus were
instructed to “really feel” the bills when handling
money, said Yu. “Our cashiers know how to do that.”
“You don’t think that a $10
bill would be a counterfeit bill.
Usually you look at your $20,
$50, $100 [bills],” said Yu.
“What we want is to let more
people know that . . . we’re not
going to stand for the counter¬
feit bills.”
During high-traffic hours,
the staff at Lancer’s Pass
would not normally check all
bills. But now that has
changed.
“You have to realize, when
you have a ... line that long
that it takes time [to check all
the bills],” said Yu. “Believe
me, now we are doing that.”
Yu wants students to keep
in mind that, “It may take a
little longer to get through a
line, but we’re doing it for
everyone’s safety.”
Kelly Bogenberger
/
Courier
Vincent Lemas gets detained by campus
police on Monday.
After sex offender incident, football's
Lawler is put on administrative leave
Jeremy Balan
Editor-in-Chief
PCC’s Head football Coach
Kenny Lawler is currently under
investigation, after he was placed on
“administrative leave” on Friday.
Interim Dean and Athletic
Director Beverly Tate would not com¬
ment on whether the investigation
involved the participation of football
player Darryl Stephens, a convicted
sex offender, who was arrested on
campus for assault on Sept. 2.
After the surprising move, PCC’s
Athletic Department is still cloudy
on their motives.
“There is a pending, third-party
investigation regarding whether
[Lawler] followed college policies
and procedure,” said Tate.
However, Vice President of
Instruction Jacqueline Jacobs said in
a prepared statement on Sept. 17
regarding the Stephens case,
"Pasadena City College does not
condone the recruitment of players
who have a record of sexual offens¬
es. This institution is conducting an
investigation into this matter.”
The Courier first reported the
Stephens arrest on Sept. 1 1 , and
Lawler acknowledged at that time,
that he was fully aware of Stephens’
past.
"He was a student athlete trying
to rebuild and rehabilitate his life
and football was a part of that,"
Lawler said at that time. "He had
been a model citizen since he’d been
here."
Stephens was sent to his parole
officer after his arrest. He was then
sent to Twin Towers Correctional
Facility in Los Angeles. He has since
been held without bail at Pitchess
Detention Center, in Castaic, await¬
ing a hearing.
Juan Gutierrez, PCC’s Director of
Public Relations, acknowledged the
investigation, but would not disclose
any further information.
“The investigation is not focused
in one area,” Gutierrez said. “I
cannot disclose any information on
the investigation. It wouldn’t be
prudent.”
Both Tate and Gutierrez empha¬
sized that there was no timetable
on when the investigation would
conclude.
The law firm of Liebert Cassidy
Whitmore, representing the school,
has retained an independent investi¬
gator, according to Partner Mary
Dowell, the school’s lawyer.
Before joining Liebert Cassidy
Whitmore, Dowell served as
General Counsel for the Los
Angeles Community College
District.
Lawler’s defensive coordinator,
James Kuk, has taken over the head¬
coaching job on an interim basis.
Kuk said he could not comment on
Lawler, but focused on his team’s
chemistry.
“Everybody is pulling together
and we’re going to grow from this,”
Kuk said. “Its called resilience.”
The players on the football team
are also in the dark about Lawler’s
status.
“We’re just playing football,” said
defensive back Cuincy Carruthers.
“They haven’t told us anything.”
“We don’t know what is going on,”
quarterback Nick Ponce said. “We
just wish him the best of luck. We all
miss him and hope he returns soon.”
As reserved as most of the players
were, linebacker James Taylor didn’t
hide his feelings.
“[Lawler] is fired,” Taylor said.
“Kuk is our new coach.”
Lawler’s tenure has not been with¬
out controversy. In the Sept. 28,
2006 issue of the Courier, many
players and an administrator ques¬
tioned the methods in which Lawler
was hired. Board of Trustees mem¬
ber Beth Wells-Miller was the only
vote against instating Lawler as
head coach.
“I couldn’t support his hire because
I felt the process was flawed,” Wells-
Miller said at that time.
In the same issue, it was reported
that two players were arrested in a
shoplifting of a Chick’s Sporting
Goods store.
Lawler is the first African-
American head football coach in
school history. In his third season at
PCC, Lawler has amassed a 9-13
record.
ONLINE POLL
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allowed on campus?
VOTE AT:
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