1 » Less than two months after being arrested for third-degree felony grand theft of a motor vehicle and second-degree misdemeanor driving with a suspended license, Florida Gators redshirt freshman guard Jessamen Dunker was cited by the Gainesville Police Department on March 6 for speeding and once again driving with a suspended license. His total fees for the two offenses are $277, according to Alachua County Court records. Dunker’s attorney, Huntley Johnson, claimed in court back in January that Dunker paid $600 for the scooter he is accused of stealing. The player was released while the State Attorney’s Office determines whether or not it will file formal charges against him. Head coach Will Muschamp suspended Dunker from all team activities on Jan. 18 and reiterated Tuesday that he remains indefinitely suspended. The most recent citation received by Dunker is his third brush with the law since arriving in Gainesville, FL. On Nov. 14, 2012, he was cited for driving without a seat belt and reportedly directed multiple expletives at the officer that pulled him over. Dunker’s latest written arrest was first reported by The Miami Herald‘s Matt Watts.

2 » Signing a brand new six-year, $67 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday (which included a $12 million signing bonus and $25.5 million guaranteed), wide receiver Percy Harvin has been all smiles as he gets acquainted with his new team. Another bit of good news that Harvin announced on Tuesday was that he is migraine-free for the first time in his life and that the ailment has not returned after the Mayo Clinc diagnosed him with sleep apnea. “I haven’t had a migraine in two years now,” he said at his official press conference on Tuesday. “Been fully healthy from that aspect so everything’s been good. I’m gonna knock on wood that nothing resurfaces, but it’s all been great.”

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Tags: arrest, Chris Rainey, Jessamen Dunker, New York Jets, NFL, Percy Harvin, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Tim Tebow, Will Muschamp

Florida Gators sophomore cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy was arrested Sunday morning and charged with a first-degree misdemeanor for possession of marijuana.

According to the arrest report, Purifoy was in the back seat of a a blue Honda that was pulled over at 12:05 a.m. for a right-of-way violation. Upon pulling the car over, a Gainesville Police officer found “cannabis residue” on the pants of someone in the car and noticed someone else throw “a cannabis cigarette out the window.”

Located in the vehicle in the middle of the front driver`sand passenger seat, by the emergency brake, was a baggie containing 2.5 grams of cannabis (ID by sight/smell).

Purifoy received a notice to appear in court on Wednesday and has his arraignment scheduled for Feb. 21 at 9 a.m. with Judge Walter Green.

He is the eighth Gators player to be arrested for possession of marijuana since head coach Will Muschamp began leading the program in January 2011 and the first since redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Leon Orr received a similar written arrest on Jan. 10, 2012. Purifoy is the second player to be arrested in as many months.

Purifoy – fourth on the team with 51 tackles in 2012 – also amassed five pass breakups, three forced fumbles and two blocked kicks last season. He is also a standout special teams performer for the Gators, playing fantastic kick/punt coverage and returning seven kickoffs for 167 yards.

Muschamp told the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday that he planned to move Purifoy to wide receiver during spring practice, which begins on March 13.

Photo Credit: Gerry Melendez/The State/MCT

Tags: arrest, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Will Muschamp

1 » Final balloting for the fan vote for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game was released on Thursday evening and none of the players initially selected for the game were former Florida Gators. Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (230,796 votes) finished seventh in Eastern Conference frontcourt balloting. Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee (165,875) checked in 10th in Western Conference frontcourt balloting with Houston Rockets forward Chandler Parsons (144,697) finishing 15th. The top three frontcourt players from each conference automatically became starters for their respective teams. The 30 NBA head coaches will vote for a total of 14 players – seven in each conference – to fill out the benches. Those reserves will be announced on Jan. 24 with Noah and Lee both expected to be chosen. Noah is averaging career-highs in points (12.4), assists (4.1), blocks (2.0), steals (1.3), minutes (38.4) and free throw shooting (.800) while also registering 10.7 rebounds per game. Lee is averaging 19.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists while playing a career-high 37.5 minutes.

2 » Arrested on Wednesday for third-degree felony grand theft of a motor vehicle and second-degree misdemeanor driving with a suspended license, Florida freshman offensive lineman Jessamen Dunker entered an Alachua County Court on Thursday morning and was eventually released on his own recognizance. Dunker, via his attorney Huntley Johnson, denied stealing the scooter that was reported stolen. “His position is he paid $600 for the scooter and I’m prepared to represent him on that basis,” Johnson told the judge, according to The Gainesville Sun. The State Attorney’s Office has yet to file formal charges against Dunker as it is still reviewing the case. He remains on the Gators football team as of press time, but head coach Will Muschamp is expected to address the player’s status on Friday at noon.

Read four more BITS in this post…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: NBA All-Stars, Dunker’s legal status, Brissett, Quinn, Hilliard, players drafted

Tags: Abby Wambach, All-Star, arrest, Buffalo Bills, Chandler Parsons, Chicago Bulls, Dan Quinn, David Lee, Draft, Erika Tymrak, Golden State Warriors, Holly King, Houston Rockets, Ike Hilliard, Jacoby Brissett, Jessamen Dunker, Jo Dragotta, Joakim Noah, Kathryn Williamson, N.C. State Wolfpack, NBA, NWSL, Seattle Seahawks, soccer, Western New York Flash

Updated at 4:30 p.m.

Florida Gators freshman offensive lineman Jessamen Dunker was arrested on Wednesday in Gainesville, FL and charged with a third-degree felony for grand theft of a motor vehicle as well as a second-degree misdemeanor for driving with a suspended license, a first offense.

Dunker, who was previously cited on Nov. 14, 2012 for driving without a seat belt and reportedly directed multiple expletives at the officer who pulled him over, was arrested by the University Police Department and booked into Alachua County Jail at 12:01 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Alachua County Court records.

Per The Gainesville Sun:

According to Maj. Brad Barber, at about 9:50 a.m. Wednesday a UPD officer spotted a scooter following a UF physical plant truck too closely. The officer noticed the scooter did not have a license plate attached and stopped Dunker at the south end zone area of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Police determined that Dunker was driving on a suspended license and on a scooter that had previously been reported stolen near the football stadium.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Dunker told the UPD upon his arrest that he had previously purchased the scooter (which was not adorned with a license tag) for $600.

He remains in lock-up as of press time as bond has not been set for his case because he has not yet been called before a judge.

Dunker paid ticket fees and court costs of $127 to settle his previous issue. However, as a result of those payments being received more than 30 days after the citation was issued, his license was suspended when payment was made on Dec. 26, 2012.

Not playing in 2012 during his true freshman season, Dunker is expected to compete for playing time and perhaps even a starting role as a redshirt freshman in 2013.

Head coach Will Muschamp is on the road recruiting but aware of Dunker’s situation. He will address it when he returns, according to team spokesman Steve McClain. A media availability had previously been scheduled this week for Friday at noon.

Tags: arrest, Jessamen Dunker, Will Muschamp

Video courtesy of Alachua County Court via The Gainesville Sun.

Former Florida Gators and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Chris Rainey was arrested early Thursday morning and charged with simple battery (dating violence). However, the alleged victim in the incident said Friday that Rainey did not commit the crime and that all charges in the case should be dropped.

According to Rainey’s attorney Huntley Johnson, who spoke with The Gainesville Sun’s Jon Silman, the victim sent an e-mail to the judge on the case as a plea for Rainey to have his charges thrown out.

“In no way did I feel physically threatened at any time,” she wrote. “Over the course of our relationship together, I have never been verbally or physically threatened by Chris Rainey. What happened [Thursday] is a misunderstanding and should not affect his future in any way.”

Rainey stands accused of slapping his girlfriend after an argument broke out over a cell phone. A witness told Gainesville police that Rainey pulled her out of a car and slapped her before he chased after her and both parties fell to the ground.

Johnson related to the court that the victim “was adamant there was no crime committed” and said the police report indicated there were no marks on her person, which would likely occur after an open slap to the face.

Continue Reading » Victim, witness claim Rainey innocent of battery

Tags: arrest, Chris Rainey, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers

Updated at 3 p.m.

OGGOA BREAKING: Steelers waive former Gators RB Chris Rainey

Former Florida Gators running back Chris Rainey, back in Gainesville, FL after completing his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was arrested Thursday morning and charged with a first-degree misdemeanor for simple battery (dating violence) due to a touch or strike.

This latest arrest, which occurred after an altercation with a woman he has been dating for approximately nine months, was first reported by Matt Watts of The Miami Herald.

According to a release from the Gainesville Police Department:

Witnesses told officers that Rainey and the victim got into an argument over Rainey’s cellphone. The female victim entered the vehicle of Rainey’s roommate, and Rainey confronted her on the passenger side of the vehicle, and began pulling her out of the vehicle.

Witnesses then observed Rainey slap the victim across the face with an open hand. Both Rainey and the female victim then fell to the ground. The victim was able to run away, but Rainey chased after her because his cellphone was in a bag the victim was carrying. Rainey grabbed the bag again, and they both fell to the ground again.

Neither party suffered visible injuries from the encounter. Multiple witnesses confirmed the incident.

According to The Gainesville Sun, which obtained the arrest report, the incident began when his girlfriend questioned him about feeling a phone in his pocket while they were saying goodbye early in the morning. Rainey proceeded to discard the phone before returning to retrieve it and learning that his girlfriend had taken it into her possession.

When police responded to the victim’s phone call, Rainey denied accusations and witness accounts that he slapped his girlfriend. “Rainey admitted he argued over the phone, but denied slapping the victim and said they had no physical contact other than him grabbing at her bag to get the phone,” the paper reports.

Rainey was last arrested and charged with aggravated stalking in Sept. 2010. after threatening a woman he dated sporadically for approximately three years. The third-degree felony charge was reduced to a first-degree misdemeanor at the request of the victim and Rainey received six months of probation as a penalty for his actions. He fulfilled the terms of his deferred prosecution agreement on April 7, 2011, according to Alachua County Court records.

He is being held without bond and will remain in jail until he stands in front of a judge on Friday, when he will be represented in court by attorney Huntley Johnson.

Rainey will likely face an NFL suspension once the league office reviews the incident.

OGGOA will update this story as more information is made available.

Tags: arrest, Chris Rainey, Huntley Johnson, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers

1 » Florida Gators freshman guard Jessamen Dunker was cited on Nov. 14 for driving without a seat belt and directing multiple expletives at an officer who pulled him over. According to a report from The Gainesville Sun, the officer’s report on Dunker was not filed right away, an action that has prompted an investigation and a leave of absence. “Lt. William Gainey, who coordinates security at football games and supervises the officer who issued the citation, has been put on leave pending an investigation,” writes the paper’s Nathan Crabbe. “Gainey met with UF athletic association officials following the incident involving Dunker, the source said. The report ended up being filed the next day and said Gainey told the officer to report the incident, so it’s unclear why the report wasn’t initially filed.”

Alachua County Court Records show that Dunker owes $104 in fines ($32) and court costs ($72) for his citation and has until Dec. 14, 2012 to pay his fees.

2 » The Gators announced Tuesday that junior guard/forward Casey Prather, who has yet to play this season after suffering a pair of concussions over the course of two weeks during practice, was officially cleared Monday by team doctors to return to the court and did just that during the team’s latest practice. As head coach Billy Donovan noted on Monday, Prather will be eligible to play on Friday as long as he remains healthy and without further incident. Should that be the case, he would have missed Florida’s first five games of the season (including Georgetown).

Tags: arrest, Casey Prather, Jessamen Dunker

So much for the Florida Gators’ arrest-free summer.

Though it had not been known publicly until it was reported Friday by The Miami Herald’s Matt Watts, Florida redshirt freshman offensive lineman Trip Thurman was cited back on June 15 for possession of stolen property – driver’s license or identification, a third-degree felony. He was then picked up again on Sept. 27 for misdemeanor possession of alcohol by a minor and is scheduled to face judgment for both infractions in six weeks.

Thurman’s first citation came during an on-campus traffic stop in which an officer noticed in his wallet, according to a police report obtained by the Herald, “what appeared to be a forged Florida driver license” that was falsified and “made Thurman over the age of 21 and [in turn] able to purchase alcoholic beverages.”

He was originally charged with a third-degree felony but had it dropped down to a misdemeanor for possession of a driver’s license or identity card with an altered date of birth. He then accepted deferred prosecution for the offense on Sept. 25 after Gainesville, FL attorney Huntley Johnson filed a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Agreeing to perform 10 hours of community service and pay $150 in combined fines and charitable donations, Thurman was free and clear and would have had the misdemeanor charge dropped from his record as long as he stayed out of trouble for four months.

He instead doubled down on his legal troubles just two days later when a police officer caught him drinking and trying to conceal a can of beer at a concert in Gainesville. That arrest, also a misdemeanor, violated his deferred prosecution agreement.

Thurman will be back in court on Dec. 5 to begin the process of settling the two charges.

Back with the Gators this season after missing most of the 2011 campaign with an injured shoulder, Thurman has played in just seven games over two years. He took a redshirt last season and has not yet been put in a position to be a major contributor.

The arrests mark the first time Thurman has been in trouble since enrolling at Florida. He is the 10th player to be cited for an infraction since head coach Will Muschamp took over the Gators in Jan. 2011. Four of the nine players previously arrested are no longer with the Florida football program.

Tags: arrest, Trip Thurman, Will Muschamp