Athlete Is Feared Killed

HOUSTON -- A Baylor University basketball player who vanished this month may have been shot in the head by a former teammate after the pair argued while shooting guns in rural Texas, according to a police document released Monday.

Patrick James Dennehy II, 21, was reported missing June 19. His mother and stepfather, who live in Northern California, first grew worried when Dennehy did not call home on Father’s Day, June 15.

Dennehy’s body has not been found and no one has been charged. But according to a search-warrant affidavit released Monday, an unnamed informant in Delaware told investigators that Dennehy’s former roommate and teammate, Carlton Dotson, relayed details of Dennehy’s death to a cousin.

Dotson, a reserve player who is not expected to return to Baylor next season, told his cousin that he and Dennehy had gone to shoot guns outside of Waco, the affidavit said. Baylor, a Baptist university, is located in Waco, in central Texas.

The pair started arguing and Dennehy pointed his gun at Dotson “as if to shoot him,” the document said. Dotson “shot his roommate in the head with a 9-mm pistol,” the informant told police, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit, an investigative document, was filed June 23 in McLellan County, Texas, to persuade a judge to allow police to sift through the files on Dennehy’s computer. It’s unclear whether police have received authorization to do so.

Dotson has not been charged with a crime. He could not be reached for comment Monday night.

Police have not discovered Dennehy’s body, nor have they confirmed that he was killed.

According to the affidavit, Dotson “got rid of the guns” and drove home to Hurlock, Md. Dennehy’s sport utility vehicle was discovered last week in a parking lot in Virginia Beach, Va., about 160 miles south of Hurlock.

The affidavit does not describe the informant, nor explain why authorities in Delaware appear to have received the tip. The informant has “proven in the past to be credible and reliable,” the document said.

Dennehy had recently told Baylor coaches that he was frightened and that someone had broken into his car and stolen money from him, the affidavit stated. According to the affidavit, his girlfriend told police that a man named “Harvey” had threatened the player.

Waco Police Det. Robert Fuller, who signed and filed the affidavit in court, also wrote that one of Dennehy’s friends told investigators that the player frequently used e-mail to communicate. Investigators suspect that useful information about Dennehy’s last days might be found on the computer.

Dennehy transferred to Baylor after getting kicked off the team at the University of New Mexico, reportedly because of a bad temper. He played in Albuquerque for two seasons. Dennehy sat out last season at Baylor because of the transfer but was expected to play this year.

Baylor Director of Athletics Tom Stanton released a statement Monday saying that he wanted to “stop some of the speculation about Patrick.”

“There has been incorrect information that made negative suggestions about his temperament,” the statement said.

“We saw a young man who got along well with his teammates and was extremely anxious to compete this year. Patrick has been a model student-athlete since coming to Baylor. That’s why these incredible events have stunned and upset us all .... Our hearts and prayers are with Patrick’s loved ones.”

Neither Waco police nor the McLellan County district attorney’s office could be reached for comment.

Baylor men’s basketball coach Dave Bliss said the Baylor community is “just in disbelief about these latest reports.”

“In fact, no part of it seems real,” Bliss said in a statement. “Patrick has been a true gem since coming into our program. He’s hard-working, with a solid grade-point average, a young man we respect. His disappearance is terribly unsettling.”

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Times researcher Lianne Hart contributed to this report.