AG ORDERS MIDLAND TO RELEASE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF OFFENSE

AUSTIN- Attorney General John Cornyn's office on Wednesday ordered Midland
police to release a more detailed report on Texas running back Cedric
Benson's April 27 arrest on misdemeanor drug and alcohol charges.

Shortly afterward, city officials released information on drugs and
paraphernalia found and a one-paragraph "circumstance of arrest" statement
that provides few new details of what led officers to arrest Benson, 19,
and Melanie Robinson, 20, at her apartment when police responded to a 911
call about loud music.

Both defendants were charged with possession of less than two ounces of
marijuana and drug paraphernalia and being a minor in possession of alcohol.

The drug possession charge against Benson was dropped Tuesday for lack of
evidence.

Police have released few details of the arrest despite formal requests from
news organizations under Texas open records laws.

Midland City Attorney Keith Stretcher requested a ruling from Cornyn's
office on what must be made public. He also requested that the report not
be disclosed entirely.

Cornyn's office ruled that while the city can withhold information that
would interfere with the investigation if released, it must provide a
"detailed description of the offense."

The handwritten document explaining the arrest reads only:

"Dispatched to above address reference to loud party. Could see marijuana
and beer bottles through window. Subject was (indecipherable) along with
one other subject in apartment. More marijuana and drug paraphernalia (bong
and pipes) were found."

Also released was a one-page "property information" report listing the
drugs and paraphernalia found, including three small bags of pot. It does
not say where the items were found although police have said they were
discovered in a purse and closet.

Benson and Robinson's attorneys have raised questions over the search of
the apartment, alleging that when police weren't invited inside, they broke
a window to gain entry.

The information released Wednesday does not say how police got in.

Benson still faces the drug paraphernalia and alcohol possession charges.
Both are Class C misdemeanors punishable by fines up to $500 and are
pending in municipal court. All the charges against Robinson are still pending.

Stretcher did not immediately return phone calls to his office seeking comment.

Despite Cornyn's order for a "detailed description," Stretcher told the
Midland Reporter-Telegram that more information would not be released.

"As long as it is pending, none of it is going to come out," he said.