Florida senior and team captain Tony Joiner was arrested Tuesday morning doing his best Repo Man and trying to bust his girlfriend’s car out of a Gainesville tow yard. As a result, Joiner has been suspended indefinitely and should be riding the pine this Saturday when Florida heads to Baton Rouge to take on #1 LSU.
I emphasize the word “should” after seeing Florida State allow recently arrested and Tased linebacker Geno Hayes to start against Alabama last weekend. Let’s just say I have little faith in the leaders of the big time state powers in Florida. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Last year Urban Meyer chose to let Jarvis Moss skate last November when South Carolina headed to Gainesville. Moss should’ve been suspended for failing a drug test the week the Gators edged the Gamecocks, 17-16. Instead, that suspension was pushed off a ween until big, bad Western Carolina came to town.
Let it be noted that Moss blocked both a field goal and a game-tying extra point in the Gators victory, which kept Florida in position to play for the National Championship months later.
This time around, Meyer stated that Joiner won’t rejoin the squad unless the current felony charge is reduced to a misdemeanor. A chief investigator at the State Attorney’s Office said they’re working on the Joiner file and there’s a chance the felony burglary charge could be reduced to misdemeanor trespassing, but that supposedly could take days or weeks as interviews need to be conducted and witnesses interviewed.
Call me crazy, but I see this “investigation” lasting hours or days, not days or weeks. Please. This case has “high priority” written all over it as we’re talking Florida – the big time state school with a top ten athletic department budget. The Gators are still in the title hunt with one loss, but drop one to the Tigers this Saturday night and that dream most likely comes to an end.
This one’s worth keeping an eye on. How soon does the State Attorney’s Office reduce the charges? When will Joiner see the field again? The 2007 Florida defense can’t hold a candle to the 2006 championship squad and can’t avoid to lose a veteran and leader like Joiner. Bet your ass some higher ups will be working around the clock until this one is solved.
In the meantime, Gator haters enjoy this three minute clip of Pencil Neck Charley losing his marbles last week when Florida fell to Auburn on a last second kick. Classic. One minute the dude is praising Meyer for his oh-so-stealth attempt to freeze the kicker yet after the second missed kick, he calls for the head coach’s job and trashes his dorm area common room.
And people wonder why all outside of Gainesville hate Gator Nation… Silly Charley, wins are for Tigers.
Owned.
the funniest trhing I’ve seen was a newspaper article saying that the towyard was pressing charges, but the OWNER of the property, A Gator Fan, states it’s all a big misunderstanding….
—
i’m thinking the charges will probably be dropped today or the towyard may face eviction….
—
Think again, to the national attention if this involved the Hurricanes….
You can write it down that Joiner will play Saturday. It won’t matter because they’ll lose, but he’ll play. Urban Myth’s idea of punishment is taking the “C” off his jersey and taking away Joiner being a Captain. No, Coach, please, not that. What a joke.
-Columbus Cane
State prosecutors dropped a felony burglary charge against Florida safety Tony Joiner on Friday, clearing the way for the senior to play at top-ranked LSU.
Joiner was arrested around 5 a.m. Tuesday for allegedly trying to take his girlfriend’s car out of a towing company’s impound lot.
Spencer Mann, chief investigator for the State Attorney’s Office, said the charge was dropped because the towing company “believes it’s a big misunderstanding.”
“The victim is adamant that he sustained no loss or damage and does not wish to pursue criminal charges,” Mann said. “Based on that information, we cannot sustain a criminal charge. Without a victim, I have no crime.”
Joiner practiced with the ninth-ranked Gators on Wednesday and Thursday, and coach Urban Meyer said if the felony charge was dropped or reduced to a misdemeanor, he would be eligible to play.
“Tony being out late on Monday is not consistent with the expectations of a leader and a team captain of our football program,” Meyer said in a statement. “Tony is no longer a captain of the Gator football team and he will pay a heavy price for his behavior internally for the next four weeks. He will travel with the team for our game vs. LSU.”
According to the Gainesville Police Department, Joiner pushed open an electric gate, got into the car and started to drive off. When Joiner stopped to close the gate, he was confronted by a witness who called police.
“We believe GPD conducted a proper investigation and made appropriate decisions based on the facts they had at the time they responded,” Mann said.
Shortly after Joiner’s arrest, towing company owner Stan Forron said the player had arranged to pay the bill and pick up the car. But Forron said no one was around to take Joiner’s money, so he must have thought it was OK to take the car and settle up later.
Forron said he planned to urge prosecutors to drop the charges.
No surprise here – Columbus Cane