Gator Clause

Joiner practiced; state attorney's office will investigate case

GAINESVILLE -- Embattled senior safety Tony Joiner practiced on Wednesday, one day after being arrested for allegedly attempting to commit burglary. Joiner was arrested on Tuesday morning after he entered a tow truck company's impound yard illegally and then drove his girlfriend's car off the lot.

Joiner was shielded from the media by assistant sports information director Zach Higbee after practice. The strong safety did not answer questions. Florida coach Urban Meyer said that Joiner was stripped of his title as co-captain. Meyer did not say whether or not Joiner will play against LSU on Saturday night.

Defensive tackle Javier Estopinan said that Joiner addressed the team before practice and apologized for causing a distraction.

A side note to this story: I spoke with the state attorney's office today and the chief investigator told me that an assigned prosecutor will indeed look into the second-degree felony charge for which Joiner stands accused.

The state attorney's office will receive the case by the end of the week or the beginning of next week and will then begin interviewing the witnesses and combing through the facts of the case. (Keep in mind, the infamous Stan Forron, leaseholder of the land where Watson's Towing and Recovery is located, is not a witness/victim in the case.) This could take up to 30 days, according to Spencer Mann, chief investigator of the state attorney's office, eighth judicial district.

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Joiner: Should he play or should he go? Also, your favorite tow truck story

GAINESVILLE -- It's simple folks. Either you think Tony Joiner did no wrong (Tim Tebow's opinion, so it must be right) or you think Tony Joiner is an alleged car thief.

Leave me a comment (Yeah or Nay) on whether or not Joiner should play on Saturday. Also, if anyone has any funny tow truck stories, please share those with Gator Clause, too. (Living in South Florida, I'm sure there are plenty of tow truck stories out there.)

I'll be compiling the best tow truck stories and announcing a winner soon. I'm pretty sure there will be a prize involved (maybe a Florida Gators trailer hitch or a "Tase The Tigers" game-day T-shirt from the Auburn-Florida game).

My favorite tow truck story. (This story is 100 percent true and you're not going to believe it.):

When first I was hired by The Miami Herald almost three years ago now the first place I lived was in a condo located on Hollywood Beach (I know. I know. Insert Hollywood Beach joke here. Look, I'm from Birmingham, Ala., OK. So, of course I was going to live on the beach when I first moved to South Florida. Too bad it was Hollywood Beach. Mistake!)

The condo was great, but the people in the condo were "not so great." The entire complex was empty during the offseason except for me and about six other units. That meant all of the condo's designated parking spaces were also open.

So, one night I was in a hurry to get home to file a story about a high school game. (To file a story is newspaper lingo for "get that dad-gum story to your editor ASAP!!!") Back then high school writers didn't have Internet air cards, so it was "part of the fun" figuring out how you were going to file your story before deadline. Roaring down AIA and pulling into the closest parking place available at my condo complex was a common occurrence. (My parking place was inside the complex's parking garage but the gate was broken at the time. It took about five minutes to 1. Get out of the car, 2. Unlock the gate, 3. Crank open the gate (How the other people in my complex did this I have no idea? Long in the tooth they were.), 4. Drive car into parking garage, 6. Back car into ridiculously small space, 7. Get out of car (with laptop, notepads, etc.), 8. Close gate.

I filed my story, fell asleep and forgot to move my car into the garage. The next day I woke up to find a note on my door from the condo Nazis and my car towed. (Please feel free to share your favorite condo Nazi story, too.) Keep in mind, I parked in a space that had been empty for several months and (like most of the spaces at this complex) was not going to be used for another couple months. 

I didn't know anyone in South Florida at the time. No problem. I walked to the tow truck company's impound yard (three miles away) with cash in hand. There was just one problem. (Well, actually two problems.) 1. I forgot my driver's license, and 2. It wouldn't have mattered anyone because the car technically wasn't mine. I bought it from cousin (a Virginian) and was yet to receive the title in the mail. There was a bill of sale in the glove box, but like I said, I didn't bring my driver's license.)

To my surprise, the tow truck guy (green teeth, hunchback, all that) didn't care. He took the money, opened the gated electric fence and let me drive away with a car that wasn't even mine FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF $125! He never even asked me my name.

Moral to the story: If a tow truck guy tells you it's sunny outside, then you better wear a raincoat. And if a tow truck guy tells you Tony Joiner "didn't really intend to steal that car," it would be wise to question the authenticity of the tow truck guy's story.

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Joiner arrested; A bizarre and conflicting story follows

GAINESVILLE -- Florida senior safety Tony Joiner was arrested early Tuesday morning for allegedly breaking into a towing service's compound and attempting to steal his girlfriend's car. Joiner was charged with burglary of a dwelling, a second-degree felony.

So, what should Florida coach Urban Meyer do about it? Should Meyer:

A) Kick Joiner off the team.

B) Forget about it and let Joiner start against LSU.

C) Suspend Joiner for the LSU game.

D) Suspend Joiner for a few quarters.

E) Commend Joiner for his chivalry.

The correct answer might be 'B.' Before you freak out, let me explain. I called the towing company that called the cops on Joiner and was referred to Stan Forron, the property owner where the towing company is located. Forron told me that Joiner was not trying to steal the car. Forron said that Joiner had called the company earlier in the morning about picking up the car.

Forron's story: The towing service employee on duty at the time had stepped away from his station when Joiner arrived. Joiner pushed opened the gate, which Forron said he unlocked, and Joiner drove the car out of the impound yard. Joiner then closed the gate and was confronted by the towing service's dispatcher, who had already called the police.

Joiner intended to pay for the tow ($76) and the towing company's dispatchers even asked the police not to arrest Joiner, according to Forron. Forron said the police declined and the arrest was made.

"It seems odd that they would arrest him and charge him with a felony," said Forron. "He wasn't trying to steal the car and people steal cars from the lot 15 to 30 times a year and I've never seen anyone arrested for it. We're not pressing charges. He paid us. It's just a miscommunication."

This whole bizarre story seems a little odd. Forron's account of the incident makes it sound like Joiner did nothing wrong. Of course, he did. After all, Joiner did get charged with a felony. Will it stick? We shall see. Joiner was charged with a felony, according to Gainesville PIO Lt. Keith Kameg, because the football player was attempting to take a car from the impound yard that was not his.

Citing the arrest report, Kameg also said that Forron was not at the scene when the police arrived.

"There's no mention of any owner being at the scene," Kameg said. "The employees that were there did not ask for a complaint withdrawal. If we got to a scene and the people that made the call ask for a complaint withdrawal then the charges are usually dropped."

Forron said that "the [dispatchers] didn't know I was there."

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LSU's Les Miles impressed with Major Wright

Just a quick note here on some local kids...

GAINESVILLE -- Three South Florida natives had outstanding games during Florida's 20-17 loss to Auburn. Too bad for Florida fans only two of those players were Gators.

Florida defensive lineman Javier Estopinan (South Miami) had his best game on Saturday since returning from knee surgery. Florida coach Urban Meyer said on Monday that Estopinan "graded out a champion" against the Tigers. Estopinan is returning to his old form after tearing his ACL last season. He was a starter before the early season injury.

Florida freshman Major Wright (Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas) also graded out a champion, according to Meyer. Wright had several impresses tackles against Auburn including one hit that forced Tigers running Ben Tate to fumble after a long gain. During his Monday press conference, LSU coach Les Miles said that he was particular impressed with Wright. (Miles didn't know Wright's name, he only referred to him as "the freshman, No. 21.")

The third South Florida native that shined on Saturday was Auburn kicker Wes Byrum (St. Thomas Aquinas).

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Gators partied after loss to Auburn, problem? Nah...

GAINESVILLE -- Florida freshman tight end Aaron Hernandez and two of his teammates went clubbing after Florida's 20-17 loss to Auburn. Problem?

Keep in mind that Hernandez, 18, is not old enough to drink. Not saying he was drinking. The club he was at Saturday, The Venue, admits 18-year-olds. Regardless of what Hernandez and two other Gators were doing at the club, should Florida's coaches be concerned that their players were out on the town after a loss?

I say no. I realize I'm probably in the minority on this one but football players are college students, too. And what do college students do on a Saturday night in Gainesville? They go to the club/bar/pub. Florida coach Urban Meyer realizes this and he leaves it up to his players to make the correct decisions when they're out on the town. Florida's coaching staff also encourages upperclassmen football players to counsel the team's youngsters. Sometimes it works (Brandon James) and sometimes it doesn't (Ronnie Wilson).

The only difference between a college football player being at the club and Joe Blow college student being at the club? Everybody at the club knows the football player. This is usually a good thing. Free drinks, lots of friends, etc.

But being a football player at the club turns into a bad thing when there's a shooting outside the club. This is what happened early Sunday morning after the loss to Auburn. There were plenty of witnesses to the crime and plenty of witnesses knew that, Hey, detective, there were some football players here. Maybe you should ask them?

Hernandez and two other Gators were at the club, according to Hernandez's mother, who spoke with the Orlando Sentinel on Monday night. (The Miami Herald tried to speak with Mrs. Hernandez but that conversation ended quickly. My ear is still ringing. Note to self: Keep the phone numbers of football players' parents on speed dial so you're the first person to call said parents. Surprise attacks are key in this business. Note to Ms. Hernandez: I don't blame you for hanging up on me. In fact, I applaud you for it. I would have done the same. What can I say? A reporter's gotta do what a reporter's gotta do.)

Just like police detectives gotta do their jobs. The Gainesville police department interviewed Hernandez and the two other players. Former Gator All-American Reggie Nelson, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, was also at the club that night, according to the police and Nelson's agent. Nelson was also questioned. None of the football players are suspects in the crime. They weren't even witnesses to the crime, according to Nelson's agent and Hernandez's mother. But when a police detective starts interviewing a bunch of drunked club-going witnesses about a shooting outside a nightclub, chances are the club's VIP list is going to get mentioned. (Ahh, the price of being famous. Sigh.)

Florida fifth-year senior Andre Caldwell saw no problem with Hernandez and Company being at the club that night after Florida's loss. "That's part of college life," he said.

Is Caldwell right or wrong?

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