Ex-Tech football player charged after incident on campus

By Shawna Morrison

Former Virginia Tech football player Jahre Cheeseman was ordered to seek medical attention and a mental health evaluation after he was released from jail last week on three misdemeanor charges, court documents show.

Cheeseman was charged last Wednesday with assault, obstruction of justice without force and petit larceny after an incident at Virginia Tech's University Gateway Center.

Cheeseman's attorney, Richie Davis, said Cheeseman is accused of taking papers from an employee's hands, then running from police.

He said Cheeseman has been diagnosed in the past with viral meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. The infection can cause a person to become confused.

Davis said there may be a connection between meningitis and the Wednesday incident, in which he said Cheeseman displayed "erratic behavior."

He said Cheeseman was taken to a hospital for testing and has been released.

According to a warrant, Cheeseman is charged with assaulting Michael Keith Herndon of the Office of Summer Sessions.

Cheeseman was granted bond the morning after his arrest, which happened about 4 p.m., and released from jail.

A magistrate noted on a bond determination form that Cheeseman "doesn't know the victim at all. Ended up having an altercation with him. Ran from officers. Said he got scared."

The magistrate also noted that Cheeseman said he was supposed to leave Friday for Colorado.

Cheeseman graduated from Tech in May, Davis said, and plans to spend his last year of eligibility playing for the University of Denver.

A 22-year-old from Vallejo, Calif., Cheeseman quit the Hokies football team before Tech's appearance in January's Orange Bowl. He indicated at the time that he planned to transfer to another school and continue his career.