Xavier Carter, Florida Gators arrested
Lawyer calls Carter’s arrest ‘unfortunate misunderstanding’
BY DAVID JONES
FLORIDA TODAY
Xavier Carter. Booking photo of former Palm Bay High star.
GAINESVILLE - Former Palm Bay High and LSU track star Xavier Carter was arrested early Wednesday morning in Gainesville in an incident in which he apparently wasn’t directly involved.
In fact, his Baton Rouge, La., based attorney, Jay Augustine, said he was confident his client wouldn’t face charges after being arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence.
“It is my understanding that Xavier has broken no laws, he is in no violation whatsoever of any applicable laws whatsoever in the state of Florida,” Augustine said. “I think this is an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
Released Wednesday afternoon, Carter recently moved to Gainesville, where he plans to train for the 2008 Olympic Trials.
Carter is rated one of the top sprinters in the world and left the LSU program last year to begin running professionally.
The incident started when ex-Florida Gator player Jon Demps, who was released from his scholarship in 2006, and current Florida defensive end Jermaine Cunningham were involved in a dispute with a restaurant employee over a bag of potato chips at about 2:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to a Gainesville Police report.
All three were arrested about a half-hour after the incident.
Florida coach Urban Meyer was still looking into the issue after Wednesday’s practice.
“Once I know the whole thing, I will let you know what we are going to do, how serious it was,” Meyer said. “I am kind of getting some reports. Sounds like complete ignorance, is what it sounds like. Which, I guess in my world, I have to deal with a lot of ignorance.”
Cunningham and Demps were later charged with battery after a restaurant employee at Jimmy John’s on W. University Avenue told police officers he was harassed when he asked them to pay for the chips. After some discussion, the employee told police, Cunningham and Demps began to cause a disturbance after he told them they needed to pay for the bag of potato chips.
The employee claims the two became verbally abusive toward the man and hit him with a sandwich and empty soda cups.
Carter was not involved in the dispute.
Demps and Cunningham fled the facility. All three were later found on the Florida campus. A GPD officer saw Carter walking with Cunningham on University Avenue. According to the GPD, Carter started running when he saw the patrol car’s lights begin flashing and the officer get out of the vehicle.
Shortly afterward, Carter was arrested.
“It’s an unfortunate misunderstanding,” Augustine said. “It’s a circumstance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So I’m confident once the state attorney receives the facts applicable to this case the matter will be resolved. At least that certainly is our hope.”
Gainesville State Attorney Bill Cervone must wait until the paperwork comes to his office from the GPD to make a decision on whether formal charges will be filed.
“We’ll review the facts concerning what happened and make a decision about what, if any, criminal charges are appropriate for the courts to be involved in as quickly as possible,” Cervone said.
All three men were released Wednesday afternoon on their own recognizance. All three were ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim. Carter is also to have no contact with Demps or Cunningham.
Carter’s father, Ken, declined to comment on the incident, preferring that Augustine speak for the family.
Xavier Carter has another legal issue pending in Baton Rouge, in which he was charged with one count of felony simple criminal damage to property. LSU police accused Carter of scratching and denting the vehicle of an LSU student’s car on Sept. 1 at the West Campus Apartments by climbing on the vehicle.
Augustine said the matter “has been resolved.” Carter paid for damages to the car and a rental car for the student while repairs were being done.
Contact Jones at 242-3682 or djones@floridatoday.com
