Wolfpack Coach's Son Had Previous Brushes with Law

Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina State coach Sidney Lowe asked Wolfpack fans for "support and understanding" Wednesday in the wake of his son's being charged with crimes ranging from armed robbery to drug possession.

"This is a difficult time for my son, myself and my family," Lowe said in a statement issued by the school. "We appreciate the support and understanding of the Wolfpack family."

On Tuesday, University of North Carolina at Greensboro police said 21-year-old Sidney Lowe II was charged with nine counts, including a felony of aiding and abetting attempted armed robbery in connection the shooting of a man in a campus dorm Saturday.

Locke Clifford, the younger Lowe's attorney, said Greensboro city police also filed 13 charges against his client in connection with an incident March 16.

Clifford said Sidney Lowe II is charged with six counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, six counts of second-degree kidnapping and one count of assault inflicting serious bodily injury. He said Lowe and another man are accused of going to a house with six people in it and striking one of them on the head with a bottle.

"We understand what a difficult time this must be for the Lowe family," North Carolina State Athletic Director Lee Fowler said. "I have spoken with Sidney and assured him that we support our coach and will do what we can for him and his family as they deal with this situation."

Lowe did not spend the night in jail, though it took more than five hours and 14 bail bondsmen to come up with the required portion of his $450,000 secured bond. The elder Lowe was in Greensboro with his son at the magistrate's office.

"He is presumed innocent, and he says he is innocent of these charges," Clifford said.

A search of court records showed Lowe received prayer for judgement on previous assault and drug charges. WRAL talked to Darryl Robinson, Lowe's basketball coach at Leesville Road High School, where he played during the 2002-03 season. Robinson said he knows the Lowe family very well and is surprised by the latest developments.

"He's a young man," Robinson said. "He's not an angel or anything. The little spats or little trouble he got into, I mean, I've had guys get into more trouble than he did here."

The other charges filed by UNC Greensboro police include: two counts of possession of a weapon on educational property; possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana; maintaining a dwelling for the keeping and selling of a controlled substance; possession of between a half-ounce and 1.5 ounces of marijuana; and three counts of stolen goods or property.

The charges were filed Monday after police searched Lowe's home in Greensboro, they said. Lowe was enrolled last year at North Carolina A&T University, but is no longer a student there.

The campus shooting occurred Saturday inside Weil Hall at UNC-Greensboro. Freshman Stephen Cobb of Raleigh suffered gunshot wounds that were described as not life-threatening. Officoals at Moses Cone Hospital have refused to disclose his condition or say if he is still a patient.

Brian Patrick Martin, 19, of Greensboro, was arrested soon after the shooting on charges of attempted murder and attempted robbery.