Stuard Baldonado's legal troubles hardly began last week with a drug arrest in the Hill District.

Back in May, Mr. Baldonado, 22, one of five Duquesne University basketball players shot Sept. 17 after an on-campus dance, was charged with felonies in Miami, Fla. Police there say Mr. Baldonado dragged and then beat his girlfriend in a hotel room.

He was charged with aggravated battery and false imprisonment and has a trial hearing on Sept. 17.

His coaches and university officials weren't notified of the May incident until sometime last week, before any decision had been made to release Mr. Baldonado from the team and suspend him from the school.

Nonetheless, without the knowledge of the arrest and charges filed against him, there was nothing the university or the team could do to discipline Mr. Baldonado, officials said.

"There was no way the university could take any action on the Miami incident because we were not informed of it until last week, when we got a phone call from a state's attorney in Miami," said Duquesne Athletic Director Greg Amodio.

While both of the Pittsburgh drug arrests are misdemeanors, the charges filed in Florida carry stiff sentences if Mr. Baldonado is convicted.

According to an affidavit filed by Miami-Dade County police, Mr. Baldonado, a 6-foot-7 power foward, became enraged after he searched through his girlfriend's cell phone and found text messages from another man.

He then forced her into a hotel room in Miami and assaulted her with his fists and an iron. Police said he also took off his belt and whipped her.

He kept her captive in the room for another 30 minutes before she was able to leave with the couple's baby daughter, the affidavit said.

The woman's father took her to a local hospital where she was treated for "bruises on her face, shoulders, back, arms, thighs, and laceration on her left thigh that required stitches."

Scott Kotler, Mr. Baldonado's attorney in Florida, could not be reached last night.

Last week, Mr. Baldonado was arrested by Pittsburgh police for acting as a lookout for another man during a drug sale in the Hill District. Five days later, he was arrested again and charged with smoking marijuana on the front porch of a house.

Duquesne basketball coach Ron Everhart said he was upset with what seemed to be Mr. Baldonado's disregard for team and the university's policies.

"I'm disappointed in the type of decisions he's made and I'm disappointed for the blatant disregard he had for the team policies," said Mr. Everhart. "I'm even more disappointed that he didn't have a higher level of being thankful and appreciate that he was given a second chance [after being wounded] to play college basketball."