USF PLAYER ARRESTED AFTER PISTOL-WHIPPING THREE PEOPLE

Trent Pupello, an injured tight end on the USF Bills was arrested on charges of aggravated battery with a firearm. Tampa police claim that Pupello pistol-whipped three people outside a popular restaurant in downtown Tampa.According to a police report, Pupello and a group of 15 people were involved in a fight around 2:50 in the morning. Pupello left the group, got a handgun from his 2005 GMC Denali, and ran back to the ground, firing the gun in the air multiple times. Then he pistol-whipped three people, breaking the eye-socket of one of them, while bruising and cutting the face of the others.Pupello was expected to miss the upcoming season, both from a lingering neck injury and academic issues. The Bulls have already removed him from their official site, although USF assistant athletic director Chris Freet said no definitive decision has been made about his future with the program.Pupello is the son of a prominent restaurant owner in the Tampa area. His brother, Joe Pupello Jr., was involved in a highly controversial investigation where it was ruled that he acted in self-defense when he shot two men in 2007.Coach Jim Leavitt quickly released a statement distancing him from Pupello. “We have not been involved with Trent Pupello since the beginning of the semester,” he released in a statement. “He was not going to play for us in 2009 because of an injury and academic issues.”