Trump Asks Chinese President For Help With LiAngelo Ball, UCLA Shoplifting Case

President Donald Trump called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to help resolve the case involving UCLA freshman LiAngelo Ball and two other basketball players who were apprehended on shoplifting charges in China, the Washington Post reported Monday.

Trump addressed the arrests during a two-day visit with Xi last week in Beijing. Xi promised Trump after the meeting that he would consider the case and that the players would receive fair treatment, a source familiar with the situation told the Washington Post. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed in an email that Trump spoke to Xi regarding the matter.

LiAngelo Ball and Bruins teammates Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were apprehended and questioned last week about allegedly stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton shop near the team’s hotel in Hangzhou.

The Bruins were stationed in China to prepare for a season-opener against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday. Ball and his two teammates were released on bail Wednesday and ordered to stay at a hotel in Hangzhou for a week or two. The Bruins returned to the United States Saturday without the trio, ESPN reported.

Surveillance video of the players appeared to show them shoplifting from stores inside of the high-end shopping complex including Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. However, the charges against the players were reduced and the case was headed toward a resolution, a source told ESPN.

Based on China’s laws regarding shoplifting, the players could have faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to Yahoo Sports.

Ball, 18, is the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball and the son of Big Baller Brand entrepreneur LaVar Ball.