Tejay Johnson, Andre Boggs and other Rutgers football players past and present were charged in a startling and violent crime spree.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- The criminal charges that threaten to tarnish a proud but troubled football program began almost a month ago.
Former Rutgers University player Tejay Johnson, 23, was charged on Aug. 5 with armed robbery, criminal restraint and weapons offenses after an investigation into an April 26 incident, court records show. It was not the first time the defensive back was in legal trouble -- he was accused of beating and robbing a man in Egg Harbor, charges that were later dropped -- and it also would not be the last.
Free on $100,000 bail since Aug. 25, Johnson on Thursday was arrested again and slapped with a slew of new charges, but this time he was not alone: Eight other people, including five current Rutgers University football players, were in police custody, and one suspect was at large.
All 10 were charged with some part of a string of violence this spring that police said included an unprovoked street attack and home invasion robberies that kept the campus on high alert.
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Johnson alone has been accused in the original April 26 incident, but authorities said their investigation led them to two more home invasions. Authorities have charged Andre Boggs, another Rutgers football player, with participating in home invasions on April 27 and May 5, along with Johnson. Boggs and Johnson were charged with robbery and burglary in those incidents.
Johnson was charged in all the alleged attacks and robberies, prosecutors said.
An Egg Harbor Township resident who knows Johnson, but did not want his name used, said the news was "heartbreaking."
"This will get around town, they'll be heartbroken, and disappointed," he said. "I don't have anything bad to say about the kid. I hope he rights all his wrongs.''
NJ Advance Media reporter Pete Genovese contributed to this report.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.