The Back Alley Archives

University of Florida police arrested sophomore quarterback Cameron Newton on Friday afternoon for felony charges of buglary, larceny and intimidating a witness, informant or victim, according to Alachua County jail records.

Newton stole a Dell laptop from a UF student's dorm room and then threw it out of the window when UPD officers visited Newton's dorm today, according to records. Newton was booked at 2:25 p.m.

Police found that Newton's serial number matched the number the UF student said belonged to his computer, according to records. The student said the computer was worth about $1,700, according to records.

The Sentinel has requested a statement from Florida Coach Urban Meyer. Newton was unavailable for comment.

When the officers asked to take his computer for further evaluation, Newton said he would cooperate but asked if he could first step away and call his lawyer, Huntley Johnson, according to records. The computer was gone when the officers checked his room before leaving, according to records, but it was later found by the garbage dumpster outside of Keys Residential Complex, a popular dorm for Gators athletes.

Stay tuned for more on this.

1. I don't believe a thing about what Franz writes. He refuses to ever see anything negative with regards to UF or its players.

2. I believe Cam to be fucked...but we shall see.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Former Florida backup quarterback Cam Newton's legal issues over possession of a stolen computer should be cleared up in the next few weeks. But Newton's attorney, Huntley Johnson, told Florida Today that the Georgia native won't remain a Gator and is transferring to Blinn College, a junior college in Texas.
By playing at a junior college for a year, he will be able to work on his game for a season then move back into the major college ranks without a year of inactivity. He was a sophomore of this year's UF team but only played in one game because of ankle and neck problems."

Florida Today has also learned that a Pre-Trial Intervention referral was filed in the Alachua County Clerk of Courts just two days before the national championship game, a 24-14 win against Oklahoma, and is expected to be accepted by the State Attorney's Office.

Newton was accused of stealing another student's laptop computer in late November and was immediately suspended from the Gator football team. According to the University Police Department, Newton stole the laptop worth $1,700 and threw it out his dormitory window when officers arrived to investigate. A student reported it as stolen Oct. 16.

Johnson feels he will be accepted into the PTI program.

"I have reviewed the case and his background and he meets the statutory criteria for the program so I anticipate that he will be approved," State Attorney Bill Cervone told Florida Today.

Generally in PTI agreements, Newton would have a probation officer to whom he would have to report regularly. He would be required to pay $100 costs of prosecution, costs of supervision and any restitution for the laptop if it's beendamaged.

He'd also be required to either be in school or employed.

Johnson said that he feels, "Everybody is satisfied that he did not commit a burglary. He did not steal the thing. He bought it from somebody else and it was stolen and that's the mistake that he made. He didn't buy it from a store, he bought it from a guy."

Newton's attorney said the transfer to another school may be best for both parties.

"Tim Tebow is coming back, Cam Newton wants to play football," Johnson said. "He'll have an extra year of eligibility left if he transfers somewhere else. So maybe out of a bad thing maybe comes a good thing for Cam Newton. That's the way I'm looking at. This is a bad thing, an unfortunate thing, it's potentially tragic. But I think the way that Cam and is family are look at it is, we're looking for the hidden lining here and the hidden lining here is hopefully he'll be successful somewhere else."

He'd also be required to either be in school or employed.