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NFL player in court
By CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer
DADE CITY -- Professional football player Darren Hambrick went from the New Orleans Superdome on Sunday to a Dade City courtroom on Monday. Hambrick, a linebacker with the Cleveland Browns, pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge of grand theft and had his case put on hold until after the football season. His attorney, Tampa lawyer Aldo Ojeda, said after the hearing that the Browns front office was aware of the charge and was eager to see the matter put aside until after the season. Hambrick, 27, flew Sunday night from New Orleans -- where his team defeated the Saints earlier in the day -- to be in Dade City for Monday's hearing. He appeared wearing blue jeans with sewn-on patches and a matching denim jacket, also dotted with patches. When his case was called at 9:05 a.m. by Circuit Judge Wayne Cobb, Hambrick was on a cell phone just outside the courtroom door. He walked into the courtroom holding the phone and told the judge that his attorney was not in the courthouse yet. The judge agreed to move the case to later in the docket. When the case was called again, Ojeda entered the plea on Hambrick's behalf. The two talked briefly outside the courtroom, and Hambrick left alone. Ojeda said he did not want Hambrick speaking to reporters gathered outside. Hambrick was charged in October with theft stemming from a paycheck he received earlier in the year from the team he played for last year, the Carolina Panthers. Investigators claim Hambrick reported the $5,682.51 check missing, and a second one was issued. Later, authorities say, both checks were cashed by Hambrick. Hambrick has been free on $10,000 bail since his arrest. Cobb set a pretrial hearing for Feb. 12. Ojeda said the Browns management had been kept up to date and said the NFL had not called him about the case or discussed any disciplinary concerns with him. Monday was a day off for Hambrick, and Ojeda said his client would be back in Ohio for practice today. The Browns understand the need to attend court hearings, he said. "He's got to take care of what he's got to take care of," Ojeda said. Hambrick, a 1993 Pasco High graduate, was a star local player and went on to play for the University of Florida and the University of South Carolina before being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. He left the Cowboys last year for the Panthers and signed in the offseason with the Browns. His brother, Troy, is a running back for the Cowboys.
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From today's Pasco Times |
