UK football player charged with theft, alcohol intoxication

University of Kentucky football player Will Thomas Collins was arrested early Friday on charges of alcohol intoxication and theft.

Collins, a 23-year-old junior fullback, is also charged with second-degree criminal mischief and fleeing or evading police, according to court documents.

A patrol officer saw three men walking down East Maxwell Street about 2 a.m. Friday, the documents said. The officer wrote that Collins was carrying a parking meter with one of the other men.

When the men saw the patrol car, they put down the parking meter, and when the officer turned on lights and sirens the three ran, according to court documents.

The officer arrested Collins, who said he’d taken the parking meter because it was loose in the ground, according to court documents.

Collins was arraigned in Fayette County District Court on Friday afternoon. His next court date is March 16.

Collins was redshirted his sophomore year, according to the UK athletics website. Collins transferred to Kentucky from the University of Pikeville after playing there as a linebacker during his freshman year.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "UK football player charged with theft, alcohol intoxication."