Palm Desert Man to Fight Extradition in Vanderbilt Rape Case

One of two Coachella Valley men accused of tampering with electronic evidence in connection with the alleged rape of an unconscious woman by athletes with Vanderbilt University's SEC football team indicated Monday in Riverside Superior Court he intends to fight extradition to Tennessee.

Joseph Dominick Quinzio, 20, of Palm Desert, refused to waive extradition and he has a bail review hearing at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, a spokesman for the Riverside D.A. said in a phone interview.


A total of seven individuals have been indicted in the case, Susan Niland of the Davidson County District Attorney General's Office in Nashville told Patch Tuesday.

The case includes defendants with ties to Vanderbilt's NCAA Division I football program, which competes in the SEC, one the strongest collegiate athletics conferences in the nation.

According to a copy of the indictment naming Quinzio obtained by Patch, he allegedly "did intentionally or knowingly alter, destroy or conceal any record, document or thing with intent to impair its verity, legibility or availability as evidence in the investigation."

Co-defendant Miles Joseph Finley, 19, of Bermuda Dunes, has an outstanding misdemeanor warrant to clear at Larson Justice Center in Indio before extradition proceedings can proceed, Riverside County D.A. spokesman John Hall said.

Both men were arrested by Riverside County sheriff's deputies Friday near their homes on warrants issued in Tennessee charging them with felony counts of tampering with electronic evidence.

Finley and Quinzio are former teammates of Brandon Vandenburg, a 20-year-old Indio native charged with aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery.

Vandenburg and three other men with ties to Vanderbilt Commodores football are accused of sexually assaulting the unconscious 21-year-old student on June 23.

Finley, Quinzio and Vandenburg all attended Xavier College Preparatory High School in Palm Desert and played football there.

Finley and Quinzio were indicted Friday in Nashville, as was Vanderbilt wide receiver Chris Boyd, 21, who is charged with one felony count of being an accessory after the fact, according to the indictment.