Ex-Longhorn Cedric Benson arrested after downtown scuffle

In his latest run-in with the law, NFL player and former University of Texas football standout Cedric Benson was arrested early Sunday in Austin after what his lawyer said was a fight with a former roommate.

Benson, 28 , a running back for the Cincinnati Bengals for the past three years , was held at the Travis County Jail for about seven hours Sunday on a misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member , according to online jail records and Benson's lawyer, Sam Bassett . Benson was released about 2 p.m. after posting $10,000 bail, Bassett said.

According to an arrest affidavit, the former roommate contacted police about 5 a.m. and said "a hostile and aggressive Benson" had approached him at West Fifth and Guadalupe streets minutes before and said they needed to talk. The man, whom the arrest affidavit identified as Charles Clavens, told police that they were arguing about their living arrangements when Benson punched him several times in the face, resulting in severe injuries, the affidavit said.

Bassett said Sunday that the former roommate, whom he declined to name, was someone Benson had been friends with for a long time and whom he knew through the football community. He had been living at Benson's house for a few weeks, Bassett said, but Benson had asked the man to leave three or four days ago. The friend did leave, but then the two men ran into each other early Sunday and got into a fight, Bassett said.

"I think this was a conflict between two men who used to be friends," Bassett said.

Benson was arrested and booked into jail at 6:42 a.m. Sunday, jail records show. The Class A misdemeanor charge is punishable by a fine of up to $4,000 and up to one year in jail. The family violence assault charge can be levied when a member of a person's household is involved, not specifically a relative.

Benson, who played for the Longhorns from 2001 to 2004, led the Bengals in rushing in each of his three seasons.

Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan said, "We don't feel it's appropriate to say anything in a case like this until there's a legal resolution to it."

Benson is facing trial in Travis County on another assault charge. In that case, recently postponed until August, he is accused of punching a West Sixth Street bar employee last year .

In 2008, Benson was arrested twice in Travis County: in May on charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest and in June on a charge of driving while intoxicated. Two grand juries declined to indict him. In 2003, Benson was charged with criminal trespassing and accused of kicking in a South Austin apartment door. Benson, who said he was trying to recover a TV that had been stolen from him, pleaded no contest and paid a fine and restitution. In 2002, he was charged in his hometown of Midland with three drug and alcohol misdemeanors, which were later dropped.

South Austin apartment fire takes home of Katrina evacuees - YNN ...

An apartment fire displaced more than three dozen people early Sunday morning.

For one family, the tragedy marks an unwelcome reminder of the devastation they faced five years ago to the day.

"We would have never imagined something like this would happen to us," Locardier Fontenette said.

Officials with the Austin Fire Department were called out to the Bainbridge Villas on Southridge Drive in south Austin around 5 a.m. Sunday. When crews arrived, four apartment units were fully engulfed. Officials say they are a total loss. Several other units suffered smoke and water damage.

The fire was concentrated mostly on the second floor and attic and caused part of the roof to collapse. Fire officials believe it started in a breezeway outside.

Before fire crews arrived, several people jumped from the second floor, to escape the flames. AFD officials said those that jumped suffered minor leg and ankle injuries. One person suffered burns to their feet. In total, four people were injured.

"In these large apartment complexes, if a fire gets going good in the middle of the night like this, it can catch a lot of people by surprise and that's why it’s so important to have working smoke alarms and fire alarm systems for early alerting," Lt. Josh Portie with AFD said. Fontenette's family, having survived through Hurricane Katrina, couldn't believe that on the fifth anniversary of the day the storm made landfall, they would lose another home.

"I asked myself, 'Why me? What did I do wrong?'" she said.

The shock from the instant loss is especially hard to understand for her grandkids.

"He was just screaming crying and hollering asking 'God Why us? Why does it have to happen to us?' I couldn't say nothing except stand up there and cry," she said.

On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southeast Louisiana. Shortly thereafter, the levees broke, flooding approximately 80 percent of New Orleans. About 1,800 died and 1 million were displaced.

"We were one of those that didn't believe that it was going to happen," Fontenette said. "We've never seen water like that."

The family picked themselves up and started a new life in Austin, only to have another tragedy strike. But, there is one thing they've managed to preserve through thick and thin.

"Family. We're all right, we're going to survive," Fontenette said.

The Red Cross of Central Texas is helping the displaced find places to stay. Click the link to learn more about how you can help.

Insiders' Guide to Austin

Texas Monthly

The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology

Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs, a historical guide

Newcomer's Handbook Neighborhood Guide, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin