Ex-Bruin Crawford to Face Charges : UCLA: Football player, suspended from team in August, is accused of assault and attempted robbery.

Willie Crawford, suspended from the UCLA football team after being convicted in August of theft, faces charges of attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an incident last month in West Hollywood, court records show.

Crawford, 19, and two other suspects, Kevin Boutrin, 19, and Lincoln Sneed, 20, are scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 9 in Beverly Hills Municipal Court, Deputy District Attorney Elden Fox said.

The charges faced by all three suspects are felonies.

Fox gave this account of the incident:

Crawford, son of the former Dodger of the same name, allegedly struck Edilberto Munoz, 30, over the head with a lead pipe during a robbery attempt near the intersection of Hayworth Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard about 3:30 a.m. Oct. 27.

Munoz was first approached by Sneed, who allegedly demanded money. When Munoz told Sneed that he had no money, Sneed punched him in the face.

Boutrin and Crawford then jumped out of a car and Crawford struck Munoz with a lead pipe, opening a cut on his head and knocking him to the ground.

All three suspects then beat and kicked Munoz.

When Munoz stumbled across the street and flagged down a sheriff’s patrol car, the suspects were arrested and a lead pipe matching the one described by Munoz was confiscated about a half-mile away.

Munoz suffered bruises on his chest and torso and required stitches to close a wound on the left side of his head.

Crawford, a free safety, went to UCLA from Beverly Hills High, where he was a football All-American. After red-shirting in 1988, he threatened last spring to overtake Eric Turner, a returning starter, and move into the starting lineup.

He was suspended from the team in August, a week after his conviction on a misdemeanor charge of theft and two weeks before the start of the season.