Florida sheriff arrests DC basketball coach, 5 teen players for alleged 7-Eleven theft
A Washington, D.C.-area basketball coach and five teenage players were arrested in Polk County, Florida, after authorities said they shoplifted from a 7-Eleven late at night. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the coach, Malik Harvey, is also accused of misleading deputies about the identities of the players. Investigators said the mother of one player cooperated with law enforcement.
In Pennsylvania, 10 members of a high school football program — including multiple coaches — are facing charges after prosecutors said a player was assaulted, stomped with cleats and jabbed in the buttocks with a broomstick.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said the alleged victim, a 15-year-old Cheltenham High School football player, was attacked by teammates during two separate incidents in 2025.
Prosecutors said the first alleged assault occurred on Aug. 15, 2025. Two juvenile players reportedly recorded the incident, and the video was later circulated among students and teammates throughout the following semester.
Isaiah Simpson, 18, was charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and related offenses. (CSD Cheltenham High School)
According to prosecutors, video of the Aug. 15 incident showed several football players using a broomstick to jab at the victim’s buttocks while other juvenile teammates held him down. Authorities said no coaches were present during that alleged assault.
A second alleged incident took place on Sept. 3, 2025, when multiple witnesses said 18-year-old Isaiah Simpson kicked or stomped on the victim.
The grand jury filing also said the same juvenile involved in the Aug. 15 incident again used a broomstick to poke at the victim’s buttocks during the later encounter.
The victim told investigators that during the Sept. 3 incident, he curled into a ball in his football equipment to shield his head while others allegedly kicked, stomped and punched him in the head and groin with cleats.
The coaches, again, weren’t involved in the Sept. 3 incident but four coaches would later learn about it, according to authorities.
Simpson was charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and related charges. Another football player, Josiah Peeler, 18, was charged with false swearing. Four other football players were charged, but their names weren’t released as they’re juveniles.
Cheltenham High School head football coach Terence Tolbert, 55, faces charges of conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child and endangering the welfare of a child. (Facebook/Terence Tolbert)
Volunteer coach Ralph Burnley, 60, gave the victim a ride home after practice when he learned that the player was “jumped” and injured in his genital area. Burnley then called head coach Terence Tolbert, 55, and told him what happened.
Text messages between coaches followed that call, leading to a group call with the victim. Assistant coach Darian “DJ” McFadden, 42, and Tolbert allegedly told the victim the matter would be handled and asked him not to tell his mother about the incident.
Assistant coach Benjamin Johnson III, 45, allegedly joined other coaches in a decision to keep the matter in-house rather than alert the school or the boy’s mother, fearing it could jeopardize the team.
Josiah Peeler, 18, was charged with false swearing in connection with the Cheltenham High School football hazing case. (CSD Cheltenham High School)
The coaches were hit with charges of conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child and endangering the welfare of a child.
The victim’s mother learned of the second alleged attack shortly afterward from a relative who had heard about it from other parents. She then took the victim to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a contusion to his penis.
High school administrators learned of the alleged hazing through an anonymous reporting app, called police and then canceled the football team’s season.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said, “These assaults on a football player were not the typical goofing around by teammates. These were crimes.”
“Numerous witnesses, many reluctant to share what they saw and knew, testified about what occurred in the Cheltenham High School locker room on these two occasions and testified about actions taken by some of the football coaches after the assaults,” he said. “After carefully considering all of the testimony and evidence, including reviewing the recovered videos of one of the assaults, the Grand Jury recommended charges against the four juveniles, two other football players and four coaches.”
