Issue date: 6/9/09 Section: SPORTS

Media Credit: Photo courtesy MCT [Click to enlarge]

Former UNT quarterback Damon West was found guilty of engaging in organized crime that involved the burglaries of dozens of homes in the Uptown area of Dallas and was sentenced to 65 years in prison May 18. Detective Al Solis, the lead investigator in the case, said West, who was a quarterback for the Mean Green in 1996 an 1997, burglarized approximately 50 homes and apartments while residents were out of town. With the help of other individuals, West gained entry by drilling holes just above the doors' deadbolts and took jewelry, electronics, purses, cars and "pretty much anything that can fit in an apartment," Solis said. One of the most incriminating pieces of evidence against West, Solis said, are the recorded phone calls he made from jail coordinating the moving and selling of stolen property. West, a Port Arthur, Wis. native and former high school football player, filed for an appeal. Ed Sigel, West's attorney, said he does not believe his client received a fair trial. "The police are trying to solve 50 burglaries by pinning it all on Damon," Sigel said. "He got mixed up with the wrong people. How would you feel if you were never convicted of a felony before and now you're sitting in prison for 65 years?" During the trial, West's attorneys said that emotional trauma and his addiction to methamphetamines led to his involvement in the burglaries. West was linked to the burglaries when a member of the crime ring was arrested and stolen property from a recent burglary was discovered in the vehicle.

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