TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Alabama basketball player Devonta Pollard has decided to withdraw from school after his arrest in connection to a child's kidnapping, coach Anthony Grant said Monday.
Pollard, who was a freshman last season, and his mother are among seven people who have been charged with conspiring to kidnap a 6-year-old girl from an east Mississippi elementary school in a plot that allegedly involved a property dispute.
Prosecutors said Pollard's mother, Jessie Mae Brown, led a scheme to kidnap the girl to pressure the child's mother in a dispute over some land.
The charges against Devonta Pollard's mother could carry a life sentence. He and the five other defendants face up to five years in prison.
Pollard averaged 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds last season while starting eight games.
He was Alabama's only signee in 2012 and was rated a five-star prospect.