Barron arrested for misdemeanor

TUSCALOOSA | University of Alabama defensive back Mark Barron was arrested in Mobile on a misdemeanor charge of second-degree hindering prosecution Sunday after a single-car accident involving his Chrysler 300.

Barron was booked on a $500 bond, and was later released.

At roughly 5 a.m., police were called to the scene of the accident at Michigan Ave., and Interstate-10 in Mobile, according to MPD spokesperson Christopher Levy. The car struck the center wall of the interstate, but Barron was not the driver and was unhurt. According to Levy, Barron told the officer on the scene that his car had been taken from a nightclub without permission by a man he knew only as "Bull."

"The officer began to investigate it and determined that Barron's cousin, Jeremy Lang, in fact was the driver of the car and had left the scene before officers arrived," Levy said.

Barron's unwillingness to identify Lang brought about the charge. Levy said the officer made several attempts to convince Barron not to mislead the investigation, including involving his mother and grandmother, but Barron's story did not change.

According to Alabama criminal code, hindering prosecution is defined as the following:

(a) A person commits the crime of hindering prosecution in the second degree if with the intent to hinder the apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of another for conduct constituting a Class C felony or a Class A misdemeanor, he renders criminal assistance to such person.

Second-degree hindering prosecution is a Class A misdemeanor, for which the maximum penalty is a one-year jail term. A UA spokesperson said Alabama coach Nick Saban is aware of the charge, but will not comment on it until he has gathered more facts on the case.

Barron, an All-Southeastern Conference safety, was Alabama's leading tackler last season and is from Mobile. The senior-to-be is expected to be limited in spring practice while rehabilitating from surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.

Reach Chase Goodbread at chase.goodbread@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0196.