Seven of Florida’s suspended players offered pre-trial intervention

Seven of the nine Florida players accused in a credit card fraud scheme have been offered pre-trial interventions, meaning the felony complaints against them will likely be dismissed.

Among the most prominent players to be offered the diversion program are receiver Antonio Callaway and running back Jordan Scarlett. The others are linebacker James Houston, linebacker Ventrell Miller, defensive end Keivonnis Davis, defensive tackle Richerd Desir-Jones and receiver Rick Wells.

The specifics of the pre-trial intervention aren’t available yet, but Alachua County court records show the players will go before judges in early-mid November. Such programs usually include community service, paying fees and avoiding further legal problems. If they can meet the specifications laid out in the intervention, the two felony charges facing each of them will be removed from their records.

The only two players not offered pre-trial interventions were defensive end Jordan Smith and offensive lineman Kadeem Telfort, who accumulated more sworn complaints than the other seven. The felony complaints — 62 in all — stem from a credit card fraud scheme involving buying laptops and iPads from UF’s bookstore using stolen cards. Telfort also used stolen cards to order food.

As for what this development means about the possibility of those players returning to the field this season, well, not much. The interventions won’t take place until early-mid November, and then the players will have to face the school’s conduct board, per coach Jim McElwain.

“We’ve been made aware of some updates in the legal process,” he said in a statement Thursday, “and there are still steps to go that include the University student conduct code.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Seven of Florida’s suspended players offered pre-trial intervention."