Former UGA basketball player, NBA hopeful Teshaun Hightower arrested on murder charge

Former Georgia guard Teshaun Hightower was arrested on a felony murder charge Saturday night, according to the Henry County jail logs.

Hightower, a junior at Tulane who recently declared for the NBA Draft without hiring an agent, was involved in a case that resulted in the arrests of six people in Stockbridge, according to the Henry County Police Department. The case involved the April 8 shooting death of 24-year-old Devante Anthony Long, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hightower’s charges also include aggravated assault, possession of a firearm or knife during commission to commit a felony and battery, according to the jail logs. He is held without bond.

Hightower is one of five who have been arrested in the case involving the death of Long, according to the jail logs. Hightower is the only person of five arrested who is facing a battery charge, the list states.

Hightower and his younger brother, Jeffrey Hightower, are being held without bond. Each of the other three arrested in the case have a bond of $10,100 listed for the possession of firearm charges, according to the jail logs.

Teshaun Hightower was booked into the Henry County Jail at 9:50 p.m. Saturday. The Hightowers were scheduled to appear in court at 8 a.m. Sunday. Another court date of May 20 is stated in the jail logs.

One man in the April 8 case remains wanted and did not appear in the Henry County jail logs as of Monday morning.

An arrest police report has not been obtained by The Telegraph at this time.

Hightower attended Georgia as a member of former head coach Mark Fox’s 2017 recruiting class, and was on scholarship in Athens for two seasons before transferring to Tulane. At Georgia, Hightower averaged 6.6 points per game while playing in Tom Crean’s system for one season.

Hightower led the Green Wave in scoring this past season with 15.9 points per game and declared for the NBA Draft without an agent.

“Upon learning of Teshaun’s arrest this afternoon, he was immediately dismissed from the Tulane basketball program,” said Tulane director of athletics Troy Dannen, in a statement provided to The Telegraph.

This story was originally published April 26, 2020 at 4:00 PM.