Source: State won't pursue charges against Florida's Joiner
05.10.2007 20:00
Sport and Travel
- Source: USA Today
Two sources close to the situation confirmed to Florida Today on Friday morning that the State Attorney's Office in Gainesville has decided not to charge Florida Gators senior safety Tony Joiner with any crime from an incident in which he took his girlfriend's car from a local towing company early Tuesday.
State Attorney Bill Cervone was in trial and not available for comment. Joiner, who will still have to appear before the UF Office of Student Judicial Affairs, could still face punishment. But since the state did not pursue charges, Joiner should be free to play when Florida meets LSU at 8:28 p.m. Saturday on CBS. He is expected to travel with the team to Baton Rouge but his playing status with Gators coach Urban Meyer may not be finalized today. Meyer said Thursday that he wouldn't let Joiner play unless it was made clear he wasn't going to be charged wiith a felony. He did not comment on whether he'd let him play if the charges were dropped. Meyer was not immediately available for comment about the State Attorney's decision. Joiner had his captain duties taken away after the incident. He was arrested at Watson's Towing in Gainesville early Tuesday. But the property owner was upset he was detained and said the whole thing was a misunderstanding more than a crime. Stan Forron said he has had as many as 30 cars removed from his towing business over the last 20 years and never seen anyone arrested and charged with burglary. "What he did was wrong," Forron told Florida Today. "We're not saying he's an angel and shouldn't pay. But why all of a sudden is he being arrested for something that happened numerous times throughout the years and nobody else has been arrested?" According to a Gainesville Police Department incident report, teammate and fellow senior safety Kyle Jackson drove Joiner to the towing company. Forron, who owns the facility, says that Joiner had actually talked to the dispatcher who was working and had made arrangements to pick up the car. The employee left to get some food and the gate to the company was left open. Joiner showed up to pay the towing bill, waited for some time and said he got impatient and decided to go ahead and take the car and worry about the bill later. But another employee noticed the car being removed and called the police. Forron claims a worker at Watson's Towing told the Gainesville Police not to charge Joiner, that the company just wanted the money Joiner was supposed to pay. Joiner, from Haines City, was released on his own recognizance on Tuesday afternoon. Under the conditions he could not have any contact with Watson's Towing and he had a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. except for school or work.
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