Colleges

Florida safety faces charge

The team captain is arrested trying to pick up his girlfriend's car.

By Antonya English
Published October 3, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT It was not decided if Tony Joiner will play Saturday. [AP photo]

GAINESVILLE - Florida starting safety Tony Joiner was arrested early Tuesday morning after police said he tried to forcibly remove his girlfriend's car from a towing company's impound lot.

Joiner, a 21-year-old team captain, was charged with one count of felony burglary.

He was re-leased Tuesday afternoon on his own recognizance with conditions: He is not allowed to have contact with anyone at the towing company and was ordered to adhere to a curfew of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., except for work or school.

Coach Urban Meyer said he hadn't decided whether Joiner will play when No.9 Florida meets No.1 LSU Saturday night in Baton Rouge. Joiner will not be allowed to practice with the team until Meyer has sorted out all the facts.

"I still don't know the whole thing," Meyer said after practice. "I'm like a lot of people, I don't know yet. I'm going to find out pretty soon. I've been getting ready for practice and we've been in practice. Until I find out everything, he won't be here."

Roommate and starting quarterback Tim Tebow said Joiner should be allowed to play: "Tony's a great player, a great friend. He's a great kid. He wasn't trying to do anything that was wrong. It's an unfortunate event. I think in his heart, he wasn't trying to do anything wrong, so yeah, I think he should play."

According to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report, Joiner was at Watson's Towing, 516 SW First St., at approximately 4:30 a.m. to retrieve his girlfriend's car, which had been towed Monday evening. Witnesses told police Joiner was seen forcibly entering the lot by pushing a heavy electric gate open. Employees called police.

When GPD officers arrived, Joiner was outside with teammate Kyle Jackson, who had driven Joiner to the lot. Jackson did not enter the gate and was not charged.

According to the arrest report, Joiner was talking on the phone in an officer's presence and was overheard saying: "I am probably about to go to jail 'cause I did push the gate open."

But Stan Forron, who owns the Watson's Towing property, told the Times there was "a misunderstanding" between Joiner and company employees. Forron said that after speaking with the graveyard shift dispatcher Tuesday afternoon, "I don't believe (Joiner) was trying to steal the car."

Forron said he was at the towing company early Tuesday morning to finish some work before leaving for vacation. According to Forron, Joiner called the dispatcher to inquire about getting his girlfriend's car. He was told the company has a 24-hour service and made arrangements to pick it up.

Before he was read his rights, Joiner told officer Robert Concannon "he had intended to pay for the tow bill ($76), but he got impatient," the report states.

Forron said when Joiner arrived and discovered the dispatcher had briefly stepped away, he pulled the car out of the gate that had been left open.

"There was a misunderstanding between the kid who came to pick up the car and the dispatcher about when he was coming down to get the car," Forron said. "The employees told police they did not want to file charges, they just wanted to get paid. This happens all the time and nobody's ever been arrested. It never happens with this high-profile a person - well, it has, but they've never been arrested."

Gainesville Police Department spokesman Lt. Keith Kameg said the officers followed proper procedure, reiterating that the officers responded to a call from two Watson's Towing employees about a burglary in progress.

"Those two employees called and told police it was a burglary," Kameg said. "He forcibly pushed the gate open. He was not licensed nor invited and he drove out his girlfriend's car. He didn't have permission to enter. When you attempt to remove the car, it's burglary."

Antonya English can be reached at english@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 3, 2007, 00:25:11]