Former Auburn player Mike McNeil was in a heap of trouble already when he allegedly participated in an armed robbery that got him and three teammates arrested and dismissed from the team.
McNeil had been evicted twice leading up to the time the robbery happened, the second time being just a week before the robbery occurred. He was also being sued for north of $15,000 by the first landlord, with former teammate Mike Blanc (who was not involved in the robbery) as a co-defendant. Current Auburn player Neiko Thorpe also lived at that first apartment and was evicted at the same time, which helps to explain why he's on the potential witness list for the upcoming robbery trial.
So while none of that could potentially excuse McNeil's alleged participation in the robbery, it does explain why he might have been tempted to join in on it. People do things they wouldn't normally do when desperate for money.
Also, did anyone else catch this in the opening paragraph? "...prosecutors allege he was one of 4 people who robbed the residents of an off-campus trailer home 2 months ago." Why was it necessary to specify that the trailer home was off-campus? Are there trailer homes on campus at Auburn?