Two USC Athletes Are Arrested : Trojans: Redshirt freshmen football players are alleged to be involved with another man in robberies and beatings.

Two USC football players were arrested with another man early Wednesday in Torrance in connection with a string of robberies and beatings, Detective Mark Fuhrman of the Los Angeles Police Dept. said Thursday.

Arrested were Howard McCowan, who started two games at free safety in 1990; Marcel Brown, a cornerback who played mainly on special teams last season, and Garlyn Coleman, an L.A. Southwest College student.

The players, both redshirt freshmen who were expected to play pivotal roles in USC’s football program, were suspended indefinitely by Trojan Coach Larry Smith, who characterized their chances of returning as unlikely.

McCowan, 19, of Carson; Brown, 20, of Los Angeles, who played at Pt. Loma High in San Diego; and Coleman, 19, of San Diego were held on $100,000 bail Wednesday in Redondo Beach city jail. McCowan, a Times All-South Bay first-team safety from Carson High in 1988, was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

McCowan declined to comment when reached Thursday.

The three were arrested by Torrance police Wednesday morning shortly after they allegedly attacked and robbed a Redondo Beach man. Police said Brown was about to use a stolen Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) card at a nearby branch of the Bank of America when apprehended.

Fuhrman said they are suspected of two similar attacks earlier that evening in Westwood Village, where the victims were beaten, robbed and, in one instance, kidnaped.

He said the case will be given to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office in Santa Monica, where charges of robbery and kidnaping could be filed today or Monday.

“On face value, we have evidence to connect all four robberies,” Fuhrman said.

The suspects were said to be driving a yellow 1982 Buick Regal in each attack, and items from the victims were found during the arrest, according to the police.

Fuhrman said the attacks in Westwood took place within 20 minutes of each other. The first victim was struck from behind at about 11 p.m. and thrown to the ground. The suspects took his wallet, including $20 in cash.

Then, two well-dressed men were attacked while walking down a Westwood street, Fuhrman said.

“One is immediately struck from behind and held to the ground and (his) pockets are gone through,” Fuhrman said. “At the same time, one suspect takes the other victim, throws him into a vehicle and he and the other suspects drive off.”

The victim told police that once in the car, he was threatened and beaten for his ATM card number and ordered to give the attackers directions to his bank.

“They never got to the bank, and he was released,” Fuhrman said.

None of the victims required hospitalization, but all needed medical attention for minor bruises.

The suspects took $44 from the second victim and $400 from the third, police said. They had about $300 in cash when arrested, according to one police report.

The victim who was allegedly kidnaped said two suspects had guns, but Fuhrman said the suspects had only simulated guns.

The fourth victim, a 28-year-old man, told police that he had parked his car in the 100 block of Topaz Street in Redondo Beach when he was jumped by three men in a yellow Buick. The victim gave the attackers $53, and the suspects then took his ATM card.

Police said the suspects demanded the access number, which the victim gave them. Police said that they beat the victim again and then fled. After the suspects left, the man called the police. Torrance officers who heard the bulletin observed the suspects’ car a little later and followed it to the Bank of America at the Union Bank building on Hawthorne Boulevard.

When officers searched the suspects, they found the Redondo Beach man’s ATM card.

USC’s Smith and Athletic Director Mike McGee could not be reached for comment, but Tim Tessalone, the university’s sports information director, said school officials were upset over the incident.

“Immediately, Coach Smith indefinitely suspended both players from the team pending the conclusion of the case,” Tessalone said in a statement. “Because information on this situation is still preliminary, there can be no further comment.”

Tessalone said Smith, after reading the police report, considered the incident serious and called the players’ alleged actions deplorable.

McCowan played in 13 games last season and had 30 tackles. He is a 6-foot, 180-pound player who was expected to replace All-American Mark Carrier when the safety turned pro after his junior season in 1989.

Brown, 6-2 and 210 pounds, was a Times All-San Diego County first-team player in 1988. He played in seven games last season.

USC has had a number of serious incidents involving football players in the past year.

Former quarterback Todd Marinovich, who was drafted by the Raiders Sunday, was arrested on Jan. 20 for possession of less than half a gram of cocaine in Newport Beach and is undergoing a year’s drug-counseling program for first-time offenders.

Marinovich’s backup, Shane Foley, was arrested in Newport Beach for drunk and disorderly contact after a taxi driver accused him of breaking a window on the car in an incident last Christmas on Balboa Island.

Three freshmen players--Michael Jones, Jason Oliver and Willie McGinest--will begin a trial May 6 that stems from misdemeanor charges of battery, sexual battery and false imprisonment. The three are accused of attacking a USC female graduate student in a dormitory last July.