Teens Charged in Colorado Football Theft Despite Deion’s Push for Leniency

Deion Sanders’s pleas for mercy appear to have been ignored.

Los Angeles County prosecutors have charged three teenagers with felonies after an alleged theft in Colorado’s locker room last year despite Sanders imploring law enforcement to let them off lightly.

The incident took place during an October 2023 UCLA-Colorado game at the Rose Bowl.

The minors, two 16-year-olds and a 15-year-old, each face five felony counts of grand theft and one misdemeanor count of petty theft. The three allegedly stole jewelry, headphones, and cash, some of which has already been returned to CU players. 

None of the juveniles are currently in custody, according to Lt. Monica Cuellar of the Pasadena Police Department, who spoke to the Los Angeles Times. Pasadena police investigated the theft and arrested the three minors. 

“Let’s make sure those kids atone for what transpired, whether it’s community service or whatever it is, but they don’t lose the opportunities to change their lives,” Sanders said last year. “They are kids. They made a stupid, dumb, idiotic mistake. When I was 17, 18, so did I. All right? So did you.”

Messages left for the L.A. County district attorney’s office, Pasadena police department, and Colorado athletics were not immediately returned. 

It remains unknown how the trio got access to Colorado’s locker room. A UCLA spokesperson told Front Office Sports that “they were high-school-aged individuals who were not on an official visit.” At the time of the arrest it was widely reported that the three were prospective UCLA football recruits from Beaumont High School in nearby Riverside County, but it’s unclear if they held scholarship offers from the program.