Longhorn charged with two felonies

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) - A Longhorn football player is facing felony charges following his arrest on Saturday.

Pflugerville police officers arrested University of Texas wide receiver Brandon Collins and charged him with aggravated robbery and engaging in organized crime. Collins was one of three people arrested and charged.

Brandon, from Brenham, Texas, did not travel with the Longhorns to the BCS Championship game due to his suspension earlier in the school year.

The UT junior was suspended from playing in games as a result of academic issues. However, he continued to practice with the team.

According to Brandon’s arrest affidavit, officials received a 911 call reporting a robbery at a Pflugerville McDonald's.

The 20-year-old caller, Matthew Mangum, said he was robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot of the restaurant as he waited for his friend. He told police the suspect was the friend he had been waiting for, Marcus Carruth, 19.

Mangum said he went to Pflugerville High School with Carruth and told KXAN Austin News that Carruth called him Saturday to hang out and grab a bite to eat at McDonald's.

When Carruth called Mangum on his cell phone to ask where he parked, "Next thing I know, I have a gun pointed in my face," Mangum said.

When asked if it was Brandon or Carruth that pointed the gun at him, Mangum said, "I can't honestly say who it was. I'm not used to a gun in my face."

That story differs from Brandon's affidavit, where Mangum told police it was Carruth who demanded money at gunpoint and then fled in a silver Chrysler Sebring convertible with a black top.

Officers were able to locate a vehicle matching the description a short time later and performed a traffic stop.

Officers identified Brandon as the driver and the passengers as Carruth and Ashton Collins, 25. Officers reportedly found a pistol under the front right seat, where a small amount of marijuana and a substance believed to be hashish were found in the vehicle.

Carruth and Brandon told police they arranged the meeting with the victim to buy marijuana in the McDonald's parking lot.

When asked if it was a drug deal, Mangum denied those reports.

"If the police want to believe the guys who put a gun in my face, go ahead," he said.

Although Mangum said Carruth was the man who had attacked him, both Carruth and Brandon said it was Brandon who had approached the victim and at no time had a gun. Both said Ashton was the only person who had a gun.

Ashton is a former UT track star but has had trouble with the law before.

Prosecutors charged him and his twin brother Aaron with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony earlier this year.

Police said four unknown males joined in a game of 'shooting dice' with Aaron, Ashton and a third male at the Regency Park apartment complex for cash winnings on May 11.

When the game concluded, authorities said the twins and the other male with them lost all of their money to the other individuals playing. That is when police said Aaron pulled an automatic weapon and forced everyone to put their money on the ground.

Authorities said Ashton gathered the money on the ground while threatening to kill them.

It is still unclear if Ashton and Brandon are related.