Before Anyone Else Posts This

An incident in Gainesville following the football game Sat night.

The information that I have is that neither Nelson or any Gators were involved in this unfortunate incident.


Shooting At Gainesville Night Club

 

Yeh, but this one does involve a Gator player!!! :x

http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20071002/NEWS/71002007/1016


A senior on the University of Florida football team was arrested early Tuesday and charged with burglary according to Gainesville Police.

Senior defensive back Earl A. "Tony" Joiner, 21, was arrested at 4:59 a.m. outside the fenced impound lot of Watson's Towing at 516 SW 1st St.

Joiner, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 194 pounds, was accused of pushing a heavy electric gate open to enter the lot in an attempt to retrieve his girlfriend's car which was being held in lieu of a $76 towing bill, according to police reports.

According to Gainesville Police, witnesses said a man pushed open the gate at 4:30 a.m., got into a car, drove the car out of the lot and was trying to close the gate when he was confronted by one of two witnesses. The witness said the man drove the car back into the lot and waited for officers to arrive.

The officer who arrested Joiner, Robert Concannon, noted in the arrest report that Joiner was on a phone talking to someone when Concannon walked up to Joiner. Concannon said he heard Joiner talking into the phone and saying, "I am probably about to go to jail 'cuz I did push the gate open."

 

!@$~#@ That's a bummer Gaterz. Joiner was a success story up until now. He rooms with Tebow also.

What was going through his mind? Pay the $76 and move on!

@$#@!#!~

 

Very poor judgement on his part but hopefully, the punishment will fit this crime.

Gville's roam towing itself is a crime so I sorta view this like a parking ticket. Maybe some running and public service after the season.

 

I certainly hope that Robert Concannon has no ties to Tennessee! :shock: :wink:

 

I heard he doesn't but ....... I bet Concannon is an SEC football official!! :twisted: 8)

 

And we all know

<r>that everyone hates Florida! <E>:lol:</E></r>

 

Young guys are good at making bad judgements. This one certainly doesn't sound like much to me.

PJ in Jersey

GO IRISH[/quote]

 

I agree PJ, and I read on a gator site that the car was illegally towed. I don't know if that's true or not but if so it might have a bearing on the punishment.

 

This puts a different light on the whole situation and makes me wonder why he's even spending a night in jail.

More On Joiner


Florida senior captain Tony Joiner was arrested early Tuesday for removing his girlfriend's car from the property of Watson's Towing in Gainesville but the property owner is upset he was detained and says the whole thing was a misunderstanding more than a crime.

Stan Forron told Florida Today that Joiner had actually talked to the dispatcher who was working early Tuesday morning 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 $76 towing bill, waited for some time and 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. 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. Instead, he was arrested.

Joiner missed his chance to bond out of jail on Tuesday. He will make his first appearance in court at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

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.

"Fifteen to 30 people a year steal their car out of the yard,'' Forron said. "I've got one pending right now where the girl stole the car out the yard and the police department didn't do anything to her. They didn't make her pay.''

Forron said he did not condone what Joiner did.

"I don't think (Gator athletes) should be treated any differently, better or worse,'' he said. "The towing company just wants their money, not anything else. This kid should not have been arrested for what he did. To me, that's just crazy.''

Forron said he was preparing to go out of town so he was at the towing company early Tuesday morning and left the gate unlocked when he left. Around 4:30 a.m., Joiner was spotted removing the car and stopped by an employee.

According to GPD Lt. Keith Kameg, the Gainesville Police responded to a call at Watson's Towing at 4:30 a.m.

"He did not have permission to enter,'' Kameg said. "When you attempt to move a car that is impounded it's burglary.''

Florida plays at No. 1 LSU at 8:28 p.m. Saturday in a game which could have a major impact on the SEC and national title picture. Joiner was a calming factor in a defensive secondary which has struggled all season against the pass.

On Monday, UF quarterback Tim Tebow and Joiner's roommate spoke glowingly about the importance of the safety to the team.

"He gave us a spark in the Auburn game and he does a great job every week of getting us ready to play. He's just one of our big leaders that's more outspoken but he'll talk and try to get guys fired up,'' Tebow said.

One legal expert contact by Florida Today familiar with the situation questioned whether Joiner will actually be charged by the State Attorney's Office for a crime as serious as burglary. The gate was left open and he did not enter the building on the property, only removed the car.

The proper charge may more likely be trespassing, which is a misdemeanor. Burglary would be a felony.

State Attorney Bill Cervone said he couldn't predict for sure when he would actually get the paperwork from GPD and make a decision on charges but it could be before the end of the week.

According to the GPD arrest report obtained by Florida Today, arresting Officer Robert Concannon wrote: "According to witnesses, the defendant did commit a burglary by forcibly (pushing an electric gate open) entering a fenced compond with the intent to commit an offense therein. The compound was not open to the public and the defendant was not licensed or invited to enter.''

The statement also reads that Joiner was attempting to pull the gate shut when he was stopped by a witness. Joiner then drove the car back inside the gate and waited for the police to arrive.''

The GPD arrest report also states that Joiner was talking on a cell phone when Concannon arrived and said, "I am probably about to go to jail 'cuz I did push the gate open.''

Joiner also told Concannon on the way to jail that he intended to pay the bill but got impatient.

As far as Forron is concerned, he's angry Joiner ended up arrested.

"What he did was wrong,'' Forron said. "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?''

Florida coach Urban Meyer has not commented on the issue yet.

 

Reports now state that the owner of the roaming tow service and T Joiner have shaken hands and made up .... and the roam tow guy opines that TJ should not have been arrested. Rumor has it that TJ bribed the guy with a Les Miles autographed Tiger cap.

BTW, what's with Gator safeties and improperly parked autos?? We have Joiner trying to "recover" his girl friend's car from an impound lot and earlier this year, Dorian Monroe getting in trouble for removing (and not returning) a wheel boot affixed to his car.

Funniest comment I've read about this situation was:

[/quote]

 

this is the EIGHTH GATOR TO BE ARRESTED IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS

 

Gaterz, that's funny!

 

So Gonz .... on average how many would that be per month??



Sid

Best one I read today was in reference to Joiner's return to practice ..... "he must have forced open the fence to get into the practice field".

 

:lol: 8) Looks like Urban Meyer is subjugating morality in favor of having Joiner play vs LSU....thats more important

 

You know Gonzo you should really do some research before making stupid remarks.

The charges are probably going to be dropped because there is really no case. If you read any of the above you would really know that.

But your style is to cheap shot so I shouldn't expect any reasonable approach from you.


Grow up!

 

8) Bill....it sure looks like a local Gainesville businessman doesn't want to create waves by dropping charges so Joiner can play vs LSU.....it sure walks like a duck to anyone that reads up on this story.

......of course...that makes it easy for Urban Meyer to play Joiner.

 

Only to a cheap shot artist like yourself Gonzo.

Anyone who really followed this story didn't understand why an arrest was made in the first place and if you truly read the story you would have understood this, but your main game is taking cheap shots.

For the other unbiased folks out there it isn't in the news yet but the word on the street is that charges have been dropped because

What Joiner did may not have been very smart, but he is not a criminal. This towing thing in Gainesville causes a lot of people heartaches and the owner said it should not result in charges, that it has happened many times and no one has ever been prosecuted.

 

For those of you with open minds, which obviously excludes Gonzo, here's a link to the article confirming what I said above.

Note the comments by the owner concerning prior arrangements and not wanting to make charges.

No Charges Against Joiner

Prosecutors drop case against Joiner

Sun staff report
11:37 am, October 5, 2007

The State Attorney's Office had decided to drop a burglary charge against
Florida strong safety Tony Joiner, the agency announced Friday morning.
Continue to 2nd paragraph

“The victim is adamant that he sustained no loss or damage and does not
wish to pursue criminal charges,” said State Attorney's Office spokesman
Spencer Mann. “Based on this information, we cannot sustain a criminal
charge.”

Gainesville Police had arrested Joiner early Tuesday morning after they
were called by employees at Watson's Towing who reported he tried to drive
away with his girlfriend's car before paying the $76 towing charge.

But the property's owner Stan Forron later said the incident was a
misunderstanding and arrangements had been made for Joiner to pick up the
car. However Joiner showed up later than expected and the employee was not
on duty at the office at the time. He also has said the towing bill has
since been paid. Police were not told about the deal for Joiner to get the
car before the arrest was made, the agency has reported.

Joiner had been a team captain before the incident. But UF coach Urban
Meyer stripped him of that title, saying he had an issue with the
“ridiculous hour” Joiner was out when the incident occurred.

Police reported Joiner had been at the impound lot at about 4:30 a.m. Two
calls from employees reported Joiner was trying to take the car from the
lot and asked police to hurry to the location. The calls identified Joiner
by name and said he was with the Gators, according to recordings released
by police.

Meyer held Joiner out of practice Tuesday, but let him return Wednesday
after stripping the senior of his captaincy.

At the time, Meyer said he was still waiting for more details in the case
before determining Joiner's playing status for Saturday night's game in
Baton Rouge. Meyer said Joiner would not play then or in any future games
as long as there was a felony charge pending against him.

 

He should now be allowed to play. This was not a plea bargain where he is having charges reduced. This was an issue where he was and is innocent of the charges.

Put the man in the game! ...wait a minute... that means the Gators have a better chance of winning... ...better chance os staying ahead of Tennessee... what was that prosecuter's phone number... I have made up... er, uh, found new evidence! :wink: