Judge denies request by Travis Hunter's dad to lighten criminal sentence to help son with football career: 'Sounds like special treatment'
A Florida judge has denied a request by Travis Hunter's father to lighten the community control supervision portion of a criminal sentence for gun and drug possession charges while declaring that it appeared that he was seeking "special treatment" because his son is a football star.
Travis Hunter Sr. is the father of the Jacksonville Jaguars rookie. Per a police report cited by USA Today, Hunter Sr., 39, was pulled over for not having "any lights for the tag" on his car in Lantana, Florida, in November 2023.
Police say they found drugs, a pistol and a loaded magazine upon searching Hunter Sr.'s car, per USA Today. Per the report, police say that they engaged in the search after identifying Hunter Sr. as a habitual traffic offender who was driving without a license.
Hunter Sr. pleaded guilty to drug possession and a gun charge after being charged with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He was previously convicted in 2018 for sale or possession of heroin with intent to sell, per USA Today.
Hunter Sr. was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation, including one year in community control supervision via a plea deal. He's currently serving the community control supervision portion of his sentence in Florida, which confines him to his home unless he's working or attending an activity approved by the state.
Hunter Jr. is a two-way football star who won the Heisman Trophy at Colorado last season and is now a member of the the Jaguars, who selected him with the No. 2 pick in April's NFL Draft.
Hunter Sr.'s lawyer, Bradford Cohen, argued before Judge Howard Coates in a Palm Beach County Court on Tuesday that Hunter Sr.'s circumstances had changed in that his son is able to employ him. Cohen requested a less restrictive sentence for Hunter Sr. so that he could 'assist his son with furthering his very promising career with the National Football League."
Per USA Today, Coates responded to Cohen that it appeared he was seeking special treatment for his client because of his son's status.
'I hear these circumstances have changed, you know, my hat's off to his son,' Coates said. 'I don't know that changes the father's situation for me. In fact, it's given me some concern that you're almost arguing for special treatment.'
Cohen declared that he was not seeking special treatment.
'I'm not, judge, and I'll tell you why,' Cohen said. 'If someone was to win the lottery and someone was to get a new job, if someone was to move to a different neighborhood, all those situational changes aren't asking for favoritism whatsoever.
"What I'm saying is his situation has changed in that his son is able to employ him. His son is able to give him stable housing and a stable environment. Those things are not asking for special treatment, judge. Those are simply issues that arose that changed the situation of an individual.'
Coates denied the request while continuing to declare that Cohen was arguing for special treatment.
'So say you, but probably 99 percent of the public out there that doesn't have an athlete son who's incredibly successful, might look at this and say, 'This sounds like special treatment for the athlete's father,'" Coates said.
Hunter Sr. was released from the jail portion of his sentence on Dec. 5, nine days before Hunter Jr. was named the Heisman Trophy winner at a ceremony in New York. Hunter Sr. was not permitted to attend the ceremony while serving the beginning of his community control supervision sentence.
A court did permit Hunter Sr. to attend the NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the Jaguars traded up with the Cleveland Browns to select Hunter Jr. with the No. 2 pick. On Tuesday, Coates granted Hunter Sr. permission to travel to Tennessee to attend Hunter Jr.'s wedding on Saturday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Two of Colorado's biggest unions join a state employee in suing Gov. Jared Polis
Colorado WINS, a union representing 27,000 state employees, and the AFL-CIO say they are joining a top official in the Department of Labor and Employment in suing Gov. Jared Polis after they say he ordered state employees to commit illegal acts. "We are outraged as state employees that our governor wanted us to actively support that assault on our community and make us as state workers accomplices in an illegal and morally reprehensible act," says Diane Byrne, President of Colorado WINS. At issue is a subpoena for information -- including addresses and phone numbers -- on 35 individuals who the Department of Homeland Security says are listed as sponsors of unaccompanied children who are in the U.S. illegally. The agency has apparently lost track of the kids and says they may be subject to crimes of human trafficking or other forms of exploitation. While two laws, signed by Polis, bar state employees from sharing personally identifying information for immigration enforcement, they make an exception for criminal investigations. The governor ordered employees at the Department of Labor and Employment to comply with the subpoena. CBS A spokesperson for the governor says, "The decision to respond to this federal subpoena due to concerns about potential crimes against vulnerable minors was carefully considered in accordance with Colorado law, which allows for sharing information to support timely criminal investigations." Scott Moss, a director at the Department of Labor and Employment, disagrees. He notes the subpoena wasn't issued by a judge and is titled "Immigration Enforcement Subpoena." He sued the governor. State Sen. Julie Gonzalez went a step further, suggesting Polis should step down. "I don't know about you but, Jared Polis has broken my trust," she said. She says Polis has also broken the trust of individuals who were promised their information would be protected from immigration agents. David Seligman is Executive Director of Towards Justice, a civil rights organization that has also joined the lawsuit. He says the Governor's directive doesn't make sense. "So why is the governor going out of his way to help Donald Trump and ICE?" Seligman said. The governor's spokesperson says: "Helping federal law enforcement partners locate and, if necessary, rescue children being abused and trafficked is not only in line with the law but also a moral imperative." It's estimated 75%-80% of unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border are victims of human trafficking. The lawsuit was filed in Denver District Court and will be heard in a couple weeks.
Fox Sports
4 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Florida A&M AD arrested on fraud charges, accused of stealing over $24,000
Florida A&M University athletic director Angela Suggs was arrested Monday on fraud and theft charges for allegedly using a corporate credit card for personal use totaling more than $24,000 at her former job. Suggs, 55, turned herself in and was booked at the Leon County Jail. She was later released on a $13,500 bond. She was charged with two felonies: grand theft and scheme to defraud. She was also charged with four misdemeanor counts of false claims on travel vouchers. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Suggs made wire transfers, cash withdrawals and personal purchases at casinos during business trips while CEO of the Florida Sports Foundation. The investigation began last November after the FDLE received a criminal referral from the Florida Department of Commerce's Inspector General, which audited Suggs' business credit card purchases and corresponding travel reimbursements at the FSF. The FSF is a direct-support organization operating under the Florida Department of Commerce. The audit revealed that Suggs falsified travel vouchers by coding the unauthorized charges as meals, according to the FDLE. When asked about the unauthorized charges, Suggs claimed some were for business meals and others were accidentally charged to the business card. She failed to fully repay FSF for her personal expenditures, the FDLE said. FAMU Interim President Timothy Beard said in a statement that the university is aware of the allegations connected to her work with a "former employer." "While the matter is unrelated to her duties as an employee at FAMU, we are monitoring the situation and will respond in the future as appropriate," Beard said. There was no attorney listed in jail records for Suggs, who in April hired 1993 Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward as the school's men's basketball coach. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football College Basketball Women's College Basketball recommended Get more from College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Associated Press
Election conspiracy theorist sticks by false 2020 claims in defamation trial
DENVER (AP) — One of the nation's most prominent election conspiracy theorists, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, stuck by his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen while testifying Monday during a defamation trial over statements he made about a former official for a leading voting equipment company. Taking the stand for the first time during the trial, Lindell denied making any statements he knew to be false about Eric Coomer, the former product strategy and security director for Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems. Among other things, Lindell accused Coomer of being 'a part of the biggest crime this world has ever seen.' Lindell also distanced himself from a story told by a conservative podcaster who accused Coomer of helping to rig the 2020 election. It was discussed during a 2021 symposium Lindell hosted to discuss election fraud. Lindell said he did not know about the story before it was discussed onstage at the event and only learned about it during the trial. Coomer said his career and life have been destroyed by statements Lindell made about him and allowed to be promoted through his online media platform, Frankspeech. During sometimes rambling testimony in federal court in Denver, Lindell painted himself as the victim of 'lawfare' — when people are sued to scare them into silence. Several conservative news organizations, including Fox News,Newsmax and One America News, have settled defamation lawsuits from voting machine companies over allegations that they promoted falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election. In 2021, Newsmax also apologized to Coomer for airing false allegations against him. Nevertheless, Lindell said he hoped his trial would lead people to look at what happened in the election and get rid of electronic voting machines, which have been targeted in a web of conspiracy theories. Reviews, recounts and audits in the battleground states where Trump contested his 2020 loss all affirmed Democrat Joe Biden's victory. Trump's own attorney general at the time said there was no evidence of widespread fraud, and Trump and his allies lost dozens of court cases seeking to overturn the result. Lindell said he never accused Coomer of rigging the election, but he testified that Coomer's claims led Newsmax to block him from being able to go on air to talk about voting machines. 'You're part of the biggest coverup of the biggest crime the world has ever seen,' he said to the Coomer lawyer questioning him, Charles Cain. Lindell said he used to be worth about $60 million before he started speaking out about the 2020 election, and now he has nothing and is $10 million in debt. 'I believe what you did to me and MyPillow was criminal,' he said to Cain during questioning. Both Cain and U.S. District Judge Nina Wang had to remind Lindell several times to listen to the questions and only provide the answers to them, rather than head off on tangents. During the trial, Coomer's attorneys have tried to show how their client's life was devastated by the series of conspiracy theories about him. Lindell was comparatively late to seize on Coomer, not mentioning him until February 2021, well after his name had been circulated by other Trump partisans. Coomer said the conspiracy theories cost him his job, his mental health and the life he'd built and said Lindell's statements were the most distressing of all. He specifically pointed to a statement on May 9, 2021, when Lindell described what he believed Coomer had done as 'treason.' Asked by his attorney what he wants out of the trial, Coomer said he would like an apology, compensation and 'a chance of rehabilitating my public image.' Lindell's attorneys argued that Coomer's reputation was already in tatters by the time Lindell mentioned him — partly because of Coomer's own Facebook posts disparaging Trump, which the former Dominion employee acknowledged were 'hyperbolic' and had been a mistake. 'Your reputation was shattered long before Mr. Lindell said a word about you,' Chris Katchouroff said to Coomer. Katchouroff noted that Lindell also is known for making hyperbolic statements and that what he said about Coomer was simply the result of his sincere concern over vote-rigging in the 2020 presidential election — a claim for which there is no evidence. ___ Associated Press writer Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report.
