By Jay Zwahlen
BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall handed out the penalties of two players on Monday for their involvement in avenging a water balloon incident on April 7.
Sophomore linebacker Terrance Hooks will be suspended for the home-opener against Arizona, be required to perform 40 hours of com-munity service and pay for half of the damage incurred during the incident.
Sophomore tight end Vic So?oto will receive the same coach-issued punishment, including the payment of the other half of the damage, except he will be able to play in the Arizona game.
?I feel like they?ve had restitution in proportion to what they?ve done,? Mendenhall said.
Criminal charges were also laid out on Monday. According to court documents, Hooks was the only one to receive official charges. He was charged with two counts of burglary, a second-degree felony, and two counts of criminal mischief, a misde-meanor.
Hooks and So?oto arrived at Parkway Crossing in Orem after Hooks? girlfriend, Natalie Dew, was hit with a water balloon.
Hooks, So?oto and Dew went to the third floor of the apartment com-plex where the balloons were being thrown and Hooks kicked down two doors before they eventually located where the balloons were actually being thrown, Orem police said.
“The three entered into the apart-ment and started back to the bedroom where the water-balloon-launchers had retreated,” said Lt. Doug Edwards of the Orem Police Department. “The officers heard the threats while they were on their way up and found them.”
The two alleged balloon tossers, UVSC students Lacey Quigley and Jason Hancock, received citations the night of the incident.
Despite the charges against Hooks, both he and So?oto will be allowed to start practicing with the team when off-season workouts begin in about two weeks.
?This isn?t the end of the story,? Mendenhall said of the punishments. ?This is just simply myself as a foot-ball coach doing what I know to be right.?
Hooks played in 12 of BYU?s 13 games last year, recording 18 tackles. So?oto played in two games before suffering a season-ending injury
