Brunner Arrested in L.A. Robbery

Two months after he allegedly robbed and assaulted a Fresno man with a samurai sword, former Fresno State and Georgetown basketball player Kenny Brunner was arrested Saturday in Los Angeles on suspicion of armed robbery.

Police say Brunner is accused of holding up Los Angeles City College basketball Coach Mike Miller at gunpoint inside the school’s gymnasium Friday afternoon while he robbed Miller of about $1,500.

Brunner was held on $50,000 bail at the downtown Parker Center jail Sunday and is due to be arraigned Wednesday, LAPD spokesman Eduardo Funes said.

LaDale Lunnie, a 20-year-old student at Los Angeles L.A. City College, was also arrested, according to the police report. He was released Sunday after posting bail.

Reached at home on Sunday, Fresno State Coach Jerry Tarkanian was stunned by the allegations.

“I feel bad for Kenny,” Tarkanian said. “I find it hard to believe he could do something so stupid.”

According to the police report, the incident began Friday when Brunner walked up to Miller, who was sitting in his office inside the gymnasium at the junior college.

Witnesses told police that Brunner pressed a chrome semiautomatic handgun to Miller’s chest and pulled the trigger but the gun did not go off.

Miller, voted California’s Junior College Coach of the Year in 1997, asked Brunner what he wanted and the witnesses said that Brunner replied “Money.”

Brunner grabbed the money out of Miller’s wallet and escaped in a white Nissan sedan parked a few yards away from the gymnasium, the witnesses said.

“We received information on the suspect’s whereabouts several hours later,” Funes said. “He was arrested at a home in Los Angeles about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.”

Funes added that officers had recovered a handgun.

Miller declined to comment.

A year ago Brunner, a point guard, was one of the most highly recruited high school players in the country after leading Compton Dominguez to a state championship. But his short collegiate career took several bizarre turns. Brunner arrived at Fresno State in February after transferring out of Georgetown in midseason. Georgetown officials said Brunner left for “emotional reasons.”

He was suspended from the Fresno State team indefinitely after his March 17 arrest with former Fresno State and USC center Avondre Jones.

Both players pleaded not guilty to the charges on April 16.

Brunner, who announced in April he was making himself eligible for the NBA draft, reversed his decision later, saying he wanted to enroll at a junior college instead.