Update 4:35 p.m.: The AP now reports that the waitress was not pregnant. Which makes this way better than it sounde... wait, no it doesn't, he still hit a freaking IHOP waitress.
Original report: Laker rookie forward Derrick Caracter was arrested Sunday morning in New Orleans after an alleged altercation near the team's hotel, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The charge on Caracter was battery.
Caracter has been on the inactive list in every game of the Lakers' opening round series against the Hornets. He appeared in just 41 regular season games, mostly in mop-up duty. He also spent some time with the Lakers' D-League affiliate.
Caracter is from UTEP and came into the league with some potential character issues (no pun intended). He started his college career at Louisville but was suspended a couple of times by Rick Pitino and eventually dismissed from the team. He's an extremely talented forward, but sometimes just seems to get in his own way. If there's any more information about this situation, we'll be sure to update you.
UPDATE: Via the Times-Picayune, Caracter was arrested for, um, hitting a pregnant waitress at IHOP. According to the police report, Caracter was drunk and struck the waitress at about 1:18 a.m.
He "started grabbing and pulling" a pregnant waitress, prompting the manager to go outside and flag down a police officer, Harper said. The female officer tried to defuse the situation, Harper said, but Caracter remained obstinate. The officer arrested him.He was handcuffed and taken to Orleans Parish jail and booked with one count of battery for hitting the waitress, as well as one count each of public intoxication and resisting arrest.
