Two other UGA players named, not charged, in police report (UPDATED)
UPDATE, 3:45 P.M. MONDAY:
ATHENS — Two teammates of arrested Georgia football players Dontavius Jackson and Tavarres King are named in the UGA Police Department’s report on the weekend incident.
Cornerback Branden Smith was a passenger in the vehicle driven by Jackson but was the only one of the five people in the 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche not arrested because he “was determined to have not been drinking,” according to the police incident report obtained by the AJC today.
Also, an identification card issued to Vance Cuff, a Georgia cornerback, was found on a female passenger in the vehicle and taken into evidence, according to the incident report. Cuff was not in the vehicle.
The report said Jackson, who was arrested on DUI and five other misdemeanor charges, “admitted to having consumed 2 shots while downtown” after initially telling police he had not consumed any alcohol. Jackson “appeared to not be trying to provide a sufficient sample” on the breath test, according to the report, and told police during a field sobriety test that a left knee injury affected his balance. The report said Jackson “stated that he had rear ended another vehicle” moments earlier.
King and two other passengers, not UGA athletes, were arrested on charges of underage possession of alcohol.
POSTED 7:33 P.M. SUNDAY:
The two Georgia football players arrested on alcohol-related charges this weekend were suspended from the team Sunday night by coach Mark Richt.
Backup tailback Dontavius Jackson and starting split end Tavarres King have been suspended indefinitely from all team activities, Richt said. More specifically, Richt said, Jackson will be required to sit out at least the first six games of the season — half of the schedule — and King will miss at least the Sept. 4 season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Richt said he is still gathering information, which could lead to additional penalties.
“I’m disappointed in their decision-making and lack of judgment, and they will both pay a stiff price,” Richt said in a statement. “All our players need to understand that it’s a privilege to be a Bulldog, and their conduct needs to reflect the standards we expect.”
Jackson and King were arrested early Saturday after their vehicle was pulled over by UGA Police. Jackson, 20, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, underage possession of alcohol, following too closely, leaving the scene of an accident, violation of the move-over law and violation of learner’s permit. King, 19, was charged with underage possession of alcohol. Two other passengers in the vehicle — not UGA athletes — also were charged with underage possession of alcohol. A fourth passenger was not arrested.
The alcohol-related arrests of Jackson and King came just days after UGA athletics director Damon Evans resigned in the aftermath of his June 30 DUI arrest in Atlanta.
Jackson and King are the sixth and seventh Georgia football players arrested this year.
UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson told the AJC that Jackson and King were arrested after a series of events on East Campus Road early Saturday morning.
Williamson said two patrol cars were at an unrelated traffic stop when a vehicle — later determined to be driven by Jackson — passed at an inappropriate speed and failed to move over. As one of the patrol cars began pursuit of Jackson for allegedly violating the move-over law, a third officer put out a radio report of an incident moments earlier in which a vehicle had left the scene of a minor accident after rear-ending another car. The description of the vehicle that allegedly left the scene of the accident matched the one being pursued for the move-over violation, Williamson said.
When the vehicle was pulled over, Jackson was driving and had four passengers, Williamson said. Police determined the vehicle had damage consistent with the earlier accident. There were no injuries in that accident, Williamson said.
The vehicle, a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche, is registered to King, Williamson said.
- More details on the arrests are here.
- And go here if you’re ready to talk some (on-the-field) Georgia football.
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601 comments Add your comment
dawggirl
July 11th, 2010
10:02 pm
GJ – I didn’t say I wasn’t embarrassed. I also know enough that this happens at every school. So, you better move out of the country. So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good bye.
Cousin Curtis is a moron
July 11th, 2010
10:03 pm
and its: “Ain’t NOTHING finer in the land than a drunk obnoxious GEORGIA FAN! GO DAWGS!
now go back to your forums, jackwagon.
bad apple dawg
July 11th, 2010
10:04 pm
You cant spell UGA without TH…..
TigerMan
July 11th, 2010
10:06 pm
And if my parents saw me every night from rush through June, I would have been home so fast my head would have been spinning. Getting a DUI is on another level, but underage drinking is hardly a problem confined to Athens, and UGA is no different than any other school, including Auburn. Tech might be different because most of their students are boys partying together while playing board games, but most other major universities have drunk kids running around every night. Is it right? No, but it is how our society is. Is it right for a bunch of old men to sit around throwing mud at each other every night on these boards while most of them have some malt liquor on the table next to them? No, but that is how our society is. Can’t wait until the games start. War Eagle!
comments are closed
July 11th, 2010
10:07 pm
—————————————————————————————–
DAWG GONE IT
July 11th, 2010
10:08 pm
TO: MARK RICHT
FROM: REAL GEORGIA ALUMNI
HOW WILL YOU EXPLAIN YOUR RELIGEOUS BELIEFS TO EVERYONE WHEN YOU HAVE TO ATTEND A FUNERAL FOR A FAMILY KILLED BY ONE OF YOUR DRUNKS THUGS WE ARE SICK OF IT.
40 ARRESTS IN 3 YEARS???? REALLY?
HERE IS THE ANSWER:
TAKE THE ENTIRE TEAM TO THE PRISON IN JACKSON GEAORGIA AND LET A FEW OF THOSE INMATES WHO HAVE KILLED PEOPLE AFTER “ONLY A FEW DRINKS” AND LEFT THEM DELIVER THE MESSAGE THAT YOUR WEAK ARSE.
FIX IT NOW OR GOOD-FRINGING RIDDANCE!!
Boise State #1
July 11th, 2010
10:08 pm
Innocent until proven guilty. Let’s negotiate. No blimish on their records. Let’s play ball. Call the Ad at Boise State, he’ll school you on two things (1) How to win. (2) How to control your student athletes.
JC
July 11th, 2010
10:09 pm
well said TigerMan
boots
July 11th, 2010
10:09 pm
Hey, AJC, don’t worry about a headline for tomorrow. Here is a scoop, just between us… A UGA swimmer just had a beer about 90 minutes ago while hanging out with some friends. I’m pretty sure she was 20 and was wearing some underwear that might have been red. Stop the presses – this is going to be BIG BIG BIG! Close down the sports programs. Alert the GBI. Send the few remaining AJC reports all to Athens. We are on the case!
Red
July 11th, 2010
10:10 pm
“father garducci” you’d go so low as to talk about Coach Mark Richt’s beliefs. Coach Richt takes no shame in his Christian belief and is public about it unlike someone who hides behind a fake name demeaning others.
ohio bulldog
July 11th, 2010
10:11 pm
did they tell the police they were uga football players?
tiger7_88
July 11th, 2010
10:11 pm
I’m sure the hammer will come down on King and he will be suitable suspended for the Louisiana-Lafayettte game. Such harshness!
Bet the house, though, that he will be back for the South Carolina game.
KimZ'sPackage
July 11th, 2010
10:13 pm
I don’t think it is CMR’s fault the kids act the way they do, but it is his job to lay down the LAW and make sure it doesn’t continue. We all know Athens has more bars than the legal age patrons can support. Everybody wants their shot at the money and LEEBURN the Big Booster for UGA provides most of the Alcohol to the bars in town. The School gets money, the bars get money, the jail, Lawyers, abd Bail bonds men get money. The only people that lose are the Parents whose money is going to pay for it all. In the 80’s we went to UGA to party because it was so easy to drink and that has never and is never going to change. When a person is killed by an UGA Athlete I hope the family sues the Georgia Athletic Association for some of that 84 million dollars they have. It is obvious there is a pattern that the players don’t feat drinking and driving because the Money behing the UGA sports teams don’t care because tha money keeps coming in. Myabe the Gov. needs to pass a law is a student at a public college in Georgia gets a DUI they lose any public assistance they get ie the HOPE scholarship.
kerryb
July 11th, 2010
10:13 pm
Father Garducci, mocking God to poke fun in a blog. That’s pretty gutsy. Your eternal torment will be great. Maybe God will punish by making you watch reruns of Tech games for eternity.
Duffy
July 11th, 2010
10:13 pm
It doesn’t matter how many of us have drank underage when we were teenagers. We did not play sports for UGA where these players are always under a microscope for their behavior. Why can’t they learn from other incidents with their fellow athletes about drinking, driving, drugs, etc. How stupid are these athletes! It is embarrasing that Richt cannot get thru to these athletes about staying out of trouble. Your are right, he can’t be with them 24/7 but he should put the fear of God in them so these incidents stop before someone gets killed.
tenn.DAWG
July 11th, 2010
10:15 pm
Anybody that would question CMR’s character is a fool.Any honest person would love to have a coach like him.If you don’t think so,just ask his rivals what kind of man he is.
JC
July 11th, 2010
10:15 pm
DAWG GONE IT, ease up on Richt. You are way too worked up over something that has absolutely zero to do with you. Richt can only do so much for these kids, he can’t live every second of their lives with them. If the time fits the crime, that is all he can do. RELAX
wasn't it King's car?
July 11th, 2010
10:16 pm
seems he’s culpable…
Big Kahuna
July 11th, 2010
10:16 pm
As a GT fan, I used to wish Richt would be booted out. Now, I hope he stays forever because uga will never win a MNC with him, and probably not even the SEC East, as long as Myer is at FLA. As obnoxious as some dog fans were while whipping boy Gailey and Reggie Ball were making Richt look good, I cringe to imagine the arrogance if they actually ever won something of significance.
So, with uga’s normal schedule of 5 or 6 GIMMEE wins, and 4 or 5 ’should’ win games, the puppies under Richt will continue to show 9 or 10 wins per year. There’s probably 20 – 25 teams every year (maybe more) that could match uga’s win total if playing uga’s schedule!
By the way, Richt’s discipline is so predictable. Back ups get multiple game suspensions, starters rest up during the first game against the sacrificial lamb team of the year. Just like Dooley did…a great uga tradition!!
Old Dawg Fan
July 11th, 2010
10:16 pm
I believe we are witnesssing the destruction of our beloved Georgia Bulldog Football Program. Coach Richt has zero discipline with his football team. The last few years have reminded me of “thug U” AKA “Miami” not in the too distant past. The Evans issue only has magnified the problem. Adams needs to move with a new AD and ‘”NEW HEAD FOOTBALL COACH”!!!!!!!!!!
Foster Brooks
July 11th, 2010
10:18 pm
More of the same with Richt. One game Richt, is what they should call him. No wonder there is no discipline in Athens, and why this so called “university” is an embarassment to all Georgians. Look, the UGA diploma is only regarded in this state, because you are applying to someone who has the same. UGA is a “joke” of a school to the rest of the nation. It is known as a drunken football factory and that is all it will ever be known for until someone really tries to clean it up.
Steve Superior
July 11th, 2010
10:18 pm
Hey let the King boy play at South Cackalacky. He wont make a difference anyway. It will be the beginning of the end for Markie boy. Can u say waterloo?
kerryb
July 11th, 2010
10:19 pm
DAWG GONE IT, WHAT DOES RICHT’S RELIGOUS BELIEFS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH AND STUPID TEENAGER DECIDING TO DO SOMETHING STUPID. MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE YELLING AT THEIR PARENTS FOR NOT TEACHING THEM RIGHT INSTEAD OF THE COACH. MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE YELLING AT ONE OF THEIR PROFESSORS. IT’S JUST AS MUCH THEIR FAULT AS IT IS RICHTS. GET A GRIP MORON.
Stinger Z
July 11th, 2010
10:19 pm
Can the ajc just start announcing something when a bulldog player is not arrested for dui, alcohol, assault, etc.? These arrests are so common, it’s no longer news.
Clark Mixon
July 11th, 2010
10:21 pm
I will agree with the masss that Jackson is an idiot ans should be gone. But in defense of T.K. To call him a thug is racist and more immature than any choice he made that night. For all we know he wasnt even drinking, maybe his worse decision was letting Jackson in the car with him with booze! It does not say underage consumption so get off of him on that! And as far as more deserving students with better credintials being passed over for him… I doubt it! Not many of these athletes could get in if it wasnt for their sport! TK graduated with a 4.0 and as many credintials as most regular students… So kick him off the team, as far as we know, bc someone snuck a beer in his car… Get real!
kerryb
July 11th, 2010
10:23 pm
Stinger Z, you know why you don’t hear any Tech players getting caught drinking underage? Because whatever Police Department Tech has is too busy working all the robberies,and muggings that happen on that sorry campus to worry about that.
icedawg
July 11th, 2010
10:24 pm
These guys knew that they were breaking the law, but they thought like most people, that they could do it without getting caught. They were wrong. They thought that the momentary “fun” outweighed the penalty if caught. They were wrong again. There is no excuse for their conduct. They should suffer the appropriate consequence for their actions. What is more important is whether or not they will learn from this experience and make better judgments in the future. Being too permissive will not help them.
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
July 11th, 2010
10:24 pm
Redpantsdawg has the right idea but this needs to be addressed and guidelines established by the NCAA. That way all schools will be required to take a certain action if their players break the rules and not have some schools kissing up to their little outlaws while others toe the line.
How can anyone say UT is cleaning up their act when Mr. 5-star Rogers is stoll walking around untouched?
Dawg Whisperer
July 11th, 2010
10:25 pm
Foster, you are just plain wrong. Many of the UGA schools are rated in the top 20 of public universities in the nation. Real estate, marketing, insurance and the law school are only a few examples that in the past few years have attained a high national ranking. If you throw it up there on the blog, it doesn’t mean it will stick.
Larry Munson
July 11th, 2010
10:26 pm
“We got a man in the corner .Yes a man in the corner and he came down with a beer in one hand and red panties in the other. Boy is there gonna be some property destroyed tonite” !
JC
July 11th, 2010
10:26 pm
“Old Dawg Fan”, who would you like to have as our “NEW HEAD FOOTBALL COACH”, Vince Lombardi? Do you think this only happens in Athens with today’s student athletes? Richt is doing all he can do.
father garducci
July 11th, 2010
10:27 pm
He who has not sinned feel free to throw the first pigskin thru a glass of sugar, for after all, you can’t spell sugar without uga, so sayeth the Lord and it was good until thy mighty team travels to Jax for their annual smiting, it is as it was….
valmoose
July 11th, 2010
10:28 pm
Please stop reporting these stories about UGA’s blacks and their troubles with the po-leece. The racist just use news like this to enflame prejudice and hatred.
Whenever a black gets in trouble for “acting out,” please do the right thing and hide the story. You are aiding an abetting hate speech against the blacks.
Odell T.
July 11th, 2010
10:29 pm
Jackson gets the Ellerbe award for the most offenses in one day. There is a point wherein Richt’s consigliari can’t manipulate the legal system. Montez Robinson passed that point, and his future was out of Richt’s hands. The same thing will likely happen with Jackson, so Richt can appear to be tough with his suspension. King gets the usual minimum penalty for the meaningless opening game. The one-game suspension is mandated by the NCAA. There is a direct relationship between admission standards, player arrests, and in-game penalties. Richt is apparently unable to grasp this fact.
Another One Bites the Dust
July 11th, 2010
10:30 pm
Richt is the biggest joke of a coach ever! Oooh King will miss the first game and possibly the belly diving pool activities that the AJC covers so well every year! What a freaking joke of a place the Cesspool is!!!!!
This is what you get when it’s ALL about winning!!! Woof Woof
FaystMunkeez
July 11th, 2010
10:30 pm
Win yew rekrute em, atz wut ye git!!
pc Dawg
July 11th, 2010
10:31 pm
So much hatred and ignorance on this blog.
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
July 11th, 2010
10:31 pm
Isn’t Big Kahuna islamic for LARGE A$$HOLE?
Red Rover
July 11th, 2010
10:32 pm
1. These players were not given anything. They Earned their schoalarships. Take it away here and there are plenty of places that will be glad to have them.
2. Most of you were never athelets and if you were not good ones so how can you judge what you do not know. Players are the same today as they were 50 years ago news just travels faster now.
3.Your life is not perfect so how the hell would you know how to run a football team and you can’t get your toaster not to burn on one side.
4. Drug and alcohol use among suburban kids is at an all time high. The problem is not just the “Thugs” (you might as well say black because that’s what you mean) at UGA. Kids are rotten, spoiled and privledged these days and they feel they are owed something.
5. You are a fan and maybe a donor but that doesn’t make you a viable or valuable source of advice.
6. Ye without sin cast the first stone.
7. The world is not ending and it is not focused on un.
8. If you are a tech fan STFU we don’t care about you wearing, waving, or mentioning red panties just make sure they are not stained. It really isn’t that serious and we are actually used to them.
KimZ'sPackage
July 11th, 2010
10:33 pm
pcDawg what is your point? UGA people love to yell for that black boy to tote the roc on Saturday, sit in church on Sunday, but talk racist crap at work on Monday.
Red Rover
July 11th, 2010
10:34 pm
Please chalk the typos up to bad/hurried typing and not my dual degree from UGA
FaystMunkeez
July 11th, 2010
10:34 pm
Red Rover, please learn how to spell – geez, were you with them during the drive-away accident?
tenn.DAWG
July 11th, 2010
10:34 pm
Foster Brooks,
Please tell us,do you really log on all by yourself,thought so.You must not read the AJC,because if you did, you would have saw the article about UGA being second only to Vanderbilt in academics.
Red Rover
July 11th, 2010
10:36 pm
I am typingand reading while watching Entourage so excuse me.
FaystMunkeez
July 11th, 2010
10:36 pm
Awn’t thank emmar tech boyz dun sumpin lak ees. Jess thankin.
KimZ'sPackage
July 11th, 2010
10:37 pm
tenndawg: “you would have saw”?
OGKUSH74
July 11th, 2010
10:37 pm
Why is it that everytime a college athlete gets in trouble people are quick to label them thugs.Yea athletes are held to a higher standard than a regular college student but if this was a student who didnt play a sport would people be quick to label that student a thug.RJ how can you call these kids thugs,you have no idea who they are or their background.Or are you just calling them thugs because of the color of their skin.Im not condoning what they did,but having a DUI does not constitute someone as being a thug.
Tech Sucks
July 11th, 2010
10:39 pm
Minor possession or consumption is no big deal. King should get a wrist slap. Jackson should be kicked off the team.
"The stadium is rocking..."
July 11th, 2010
10:39 pm
Why don’t we just finally accept the fact that most college students, given the opportunity, are going to imbibe??? The state of GA should legislate a change to the current legal drinking age, dropping it from 21 to 18 (like it was when I was a student @ UGA), and let’s quit having to suspend and/or pull athletic scholatahips from student athletes who are just doing what the vast majority of other students do as standard practice! Not to mention the enriching of city & couny cofers across the country with revenues realized from the enforcement of current age-limit alcohol laws. I do get that MADD will have a total hissy fit over such a notion, but telling a college student to not drink is only slightly more moronic than telling them to not have sex – ain’t gonna happen!
SLim
July 11th, 2010
10:39 pm
Weak….