Thompson facing new charges
TUESDAY UPDATE: Jim McElwain addressed the status of Mark Thompson during his press conference Tuesday morning.
“Yeah, we’re made aware of that," McElwain said. "I’ve got to kind of find out where exactly that sits moving forward. But obviously we’re aware there was an incident here last week.”
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For the second time in six weeks, redshirt junior running back Mark Thompson has gotten in trouble with the law.
According to Alachua County Court Records, Thompson is facing one charge of misdemeanor trespassing on posted property, stemming from an incident that occurred last Thursday, as first reported by the Independent Florida Alligator.
Per a sworn complaint affidavit, at about 2 p.m. last Thursday, Thompson was located inside the fenced compound at Ultimate Towing. Thompson stated to GPD that he slipped through a gap in the fence in an attempt to contact employees. He then showed the law enforcement officer the gap, which was passable but still clearly meant to bar entry, per court records. The sworn complaint affidavit was filed Monday.
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The incident occurred a day before Thompson’s 22nd birthday.
Thompson’s previous run-in with the law occurred on Oct. 27, when he was cited for marijuana possession at a traffic stop. He was later suspended one game against Georgia and did not make the trip with the team to Jacksonville. Thompson has been notified to appear in a pre-trial conference for that offense on Jan. 5, 2017, three days after Florida’s Outback Bowl matchup with Iowa.
This season has been an underwhelming one on the field for Thompson, a four-star JUCO signee from the 2016 recruiting class. The 6-foot-2, 237-pound redshirt junior (listed at 210 pounds on the sworn complaint affidavit) has rushed for just 295 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries while catching three balls for 20 yards in 11 appearance (four starts) this season. Thompson hasn’t scored a touchdown since week three and has only received nine carries since his one-game suspension.
Florida head coach Jim McElwain will meet with the media on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. ET and should address the status of Thompson.
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