UCLA Linebacker Is Accused in Assault

The UCLA football program, often under fire because of legal difficulties the last couple of years, got another black eye Friday when freshman linebacker Asi Faoa, 19, was arrested in an incident that has left a fellow student with brain damage.

Faoa, who redshirted last season, was charged with mayhem and assault with means likely to produce bodily injury, according to the L.A. County district attorney’s office.

He was held on $100,000 bond and will be arraigned Monday to answer the charges that stem from an April 30 block party in Westwood Village. The complaint alleges that Faoa, a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder, is responsible for injuries to Rodrigo Dezubriria, 22, that resulted in brain damage. Foao was suspended by athletic officials.

“The suspension is consistent with . . . precedent,” UCLA Athletic Director Pete Dalis said in a statement. “We will investigate the situation before making any other decisions.”

Coach Bob Toledo was unavailable for comment.

One precedent cited by Dalis stems from last year’s handicapped parking scandal that implicated 19 current or former players who had placards illegally. Another involves an incident two years ago in which running back Jermaine Lewis was suspended for a game after being implicated in a fighting incident.

Lewis was exonerated from involvement by authorities, but implicated by Toledo as being “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”