According to sheriff Bill Leeper, a 2007 Dodge Charger…Dodge Charger?…was stopped at roughly 10:00 p.m. on U.S. 1 in western Nassau County for driving 58 mph in a 45 mph zone. Inside were four occupants, including driver Elbert Thornton, 21, of Jacksonville.
An officer smelled a strong odor of burnt marijuana and found four bags of marijuana totaling 202.5 grams underneath the driver’s seat and front passenger seat. Bessent was sitting in the front passenger seat.
None of the four occupants, all male, took ownership of the marijuana and so all were arrested on the same charges, Leeper said.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn “is aware of the situation and is continuing to gather information,” a team spokesman said Saturday.
It’s just too bad Bessent didn’t sign elsewhere. Given Auburn’s recent history of signing players kicked off other teams for similar trouble, Bessent would be starting for the Tigers this August. Cam Newton and Nick Marshall say “hey.”
Bessent sent a message to his followers on Twitter following his arrest.
“God knows the truth and he is going to stick with me through this if nobody else will!!”
Oh he’ll stick with you, Kalvaraz. But unfortunately so will this.
If convicted on all three charges, Bessent could face up to 11 years in prison, according to Florida state law. He faces five years on each felony charge and one year for drug paraphernalia.
Bessent was a defensive back prospect expected to help fill a secondary in need.
27 thoughts on “Auburn signee arrested, faces up to 11-years if convicted”
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Another spot on article about the corruption with the fambly. This is the same fambly that let that criminal, Dee Liner, stay on the commitment list after all his arrest. You called them barners out for it though. Quit trying to win at all cost awbrens. Pathetic. It ain’t too late though for bessent to straighten up. Just not in lee county. My hope for mr. Bessent is he gets to go to awbren and maybe play special teams. Then be de-cleated by a class act like DJ Pettway. That would be justice.
#struggleoverwit
Winkie, didn’t Dee Liner commit to Bama? And post pictures of him “Not strugglin no mo”?
It was an unuasually warm day in ousth Ala. But I saw a snake in the road. I ran over it twice but didn’t kill it. I ran over it a third time…and it fiannly died
Hunter, are you drinking and posting again?
Yesh. It’s amazing what seems funny at 1:30 AM when you can’t see the trees for the Old Forrester.
About the football prospect kid. It’s hard to believe he didn’t know what he was riding around on top of. Just cause he’s an Aubie or was going to be one, doesn’t really make any difference. Every college football program has this sort of thing happen. Well, maybe not in Colorado or Washington.
I get a couple of things out of this that maybe other people don’t think about. The marijuana laws are too harsh. A teenager with his whole life in front of him doesn’t need to be facing 11 years in prison for the things I see in this article. Pot should be decriminalized so our jails aren’t full of people like this. Long term prison sentences should be for violent criminals and white collar crooks who steal from old ladies’ retirement funds. However, it should be a crime to drive around with it while you are high, just like it’s illegal to drink and drive. But possession? 11 years? Too much. The moral for kids is that the laws are strict and the consequences are harsh.
Of course he’s innocent! I mean how could he be guilty just riding in a car with 3 OTHER guys smoking weed and only a half pound of it hidden under his seat. Oh, I get it! He was picked up hitch hiking! Great defense! Wonder if this will drop Awbie’s recruiting class out of the top 10? ROTFLMAO! RTR!
ITK if this kid didn’t commit to AU would u be wishing prison time on him? It’s disturbing that u let your hatred for Auburn allow u to hide behind a blog and disparage a KID. I know be didn’t make a wise decision. And might deserve jail time. But where was your outrage when Tony Brown exercised similar bad judgment and was arrested? No where to be found. I don’t know how popular you are on the blogosphere and don’t know how many people read capstone. But you spread hate for a group of people that don’t cheer for Alabama. U act like auburn fans are beneath u. U say things about people because they cheer for a football team. I realize auburn fans can be jack wagons as well about Bama fans. But due to your “leadership” position u should look at taking the high road sometime. U might start garnering some respect from other people besides Alabama fans.
Hiding behind a blog to disparage a kid, you say?
Do you feel the same way about the news stations and newspapers that reported the same story?
And are you really suggesting Alabama fans are proud of a former player doing something bad enough to get kicked out?
We’re not.
But don’t take my word for it; If it helps, we’ve written here explicitly about when Alabama players or signees do stupid and/or illegal things and are removed from the program and the university, including 5-star talent that never played a down at the Capstone. Something tells me you don’t come here to celebrate our “leadership” when we write those stories.
But if you’re trying to compare the difference between felonious offenders who played football at either school, I don’t recommend it. You won’t be happy with the results.
Wishing prison time on him? I challenge you to back that up. At his age regardless of where he intended to play this is a tragedy. Do a light internet search on this story and you’ll find the same info on possible jail time.
The fact is, less than one week out from national signing day, this is a news story that affects this state, so we’re going to touch on it.
The thing is, you’re used to the state media not covering bad news from Lee County, hence the knee jerk reactions when we tell you what’s happening to the Evans family and in this story.
And as for Tony Brown, there’s a big difference between felony behavior for drug trafficking and what Brown did. Not every issue can be separated by our teams’ colors.
It’s a story because so many people, including me, are very interested in college football. When somebody like a high profile recruit gets nailed, It gets a lot of attention. Because people’s loyalties are so fierce, they tend to start taking sides. Those kids had a lot of weed. Did they get charged with intent to distribute? Possession? Possession of paraphernalia? That’s usually news anywhere.
Especially in the South where people are also fiercely divided over “moral” issues like gambling and marijuana and such.
And now for something entirely different. Clint Eastwood does the Hiemi on a PGA official
Nobody? Crickets? I know it was out of place but..come on! Clint? Golf? Saved somebody? Dirty Harry is 83. God bless him.
Alabama just passed medicinal Marijuana laws. And I too think Pot shouldn’t necessarily be a jailable offense. But driving while smoking it is another matter. Also if you’re under age to drink, then you’re under age to get high. Add that to the fact that they still had after smoking, 10 ounce of Weed – dude that’s a shit load of Weed. They could hit them with intention to distribute. I haven’t used 10 ounces of Weed in my entire life. What’s more, don’t get all high and mighty. What you think and what actually is, are two different things – and they knew the rules and the laws and said fuck it. So since they were stupid enough to get caught – they deserve what they get.
It was 20 grams. Not 1/2 of a pound , or 10 ounces as Crimsonite mentions. More like 0.705479 of an ounce. Has it came out who owned the car?
@BRob
Everywhere I’ve read says it was over two hundred grams split into four bags according to the official police report.
Your math is right. It’s your facts that are wrong. I’m going to ignore the grammar, though; my gift to you.
From AL.com story
“over 20 grams and possession with intent, ”
Thanks for overlooking my spelling/grammar.
I see where it says over 200 grams , but it also says that the Auburn player was charged with 20 grams? Maybe a typo by the Author????
The amount is important because that’s what determines the severity of the charge.
The total amount was nearly half a pound. It’s a lot of dope no matter how you slice it.
I’m not sure what the argument against the difference of four guys found with four bags of weed totalling nearly half a pound and an unpermitted handgun is supposed to be, never mind the speeding and smoking weed in the car.
Trying to make lemons into lemonade. It would be legal to buy a fifth of vodka… even a gallon… and go home and drink as much as you want. I truly believe the laws are too harsh on a lot of drug related crimes. You shouldn’t be out in public doing anything that would compromise your driving ability. But you shouldn’t be….I don’t have enough sugar for my lemonade/// get back
Hunter, I can only imagine what people would say if they were all drunk on vodka with four 1-liter bottles and a handgun in the car while speeding and drinking.
The laws may be harsh. That’s a matter of opinion I suppose, but no sentencing has taken place in this case yet.
Regardless, even in states with permissible marijuana laws, the volume in the car was enough for a conviction; I believe the highest you can carry in any state is one ounce or 28 grams. There were over seven ounces in the car, so even if they were driving in California, everyone in the car had a current medical marijuana card and the gun was taken completely out of the equation, at least three of the passengers would be in jail.
Of course, federal law alone can technically put you in jail for a year just for posession of less than a gram, never mind the gun.
What the hell have you been smoking bub? The story said 220 grams at 23 grams per ounce that’ s 10 ounces whichis way more than 1/2 a pound. Try waking uo beforeyou post.
I listened to Finebaum today and it was mostly about the gay football player. But “morals” mean something different to different people don’t they. Get back.
You do realize Alabama just signed a player that was kicked off Georgias team for theft, right?
What did he steal to get kicked out of school, a laptop?
Sorry, I simply couldn’t resist. Tee ball.
You’re probably thinking of Nick Marshall, who was kicked off Georgia’s team for stealing cash (including from teammates if I remember right). However, he is now the starting quarterback at Auburn, not Alabama.
But if you’re talking about Ty Flournoy-Smith, he at least spent the last year in junior college staying out of any trouble whatsoever and is getting set to graduate in a few weeks. And correct me if I’m wrong here, but didn’t he turn in his text books for money and say they were stolen rather than outright stealing someone else’s property or cash? It’s stupid and I agree he derserved his punishment, but good grief peachy…
So its different when Alabama signs a player that got kicked out of school for theft than when Auburn does it?
Just seems Alabama players own up to it and pay restitution while the Auburn players slide out the back door and re-surface at Auburn. But I don’t expect you to see the difference. It’s hard to with those blinders on.
@peachy
Huh?
But you’re the one who brought up the theft?
I’m just pointing out the difference between stealing someone’s laptop and cash from your teammates versus your own textbooks being reported stolen.
And you know what? Yes, it is the point.
You see, at Alabama you don’t exactly get second chances. You screw up, you’re out. You can call it harsh discipline or even just a side effect of having more depth than the Pacific, but Ty Flournoy-Smith, just as an example, stayed out of trouble completely while in junior college, continued to grow as a football player and worked hard enough in class to earn his degree this quarter. Frankly, the guy should be celebrated, not compared to Nick Marshall and Cam Newton, but again you’re the one who brought it up and didn’t answer the question, not the other way around.
In other words, no, it’s not different just because he’s an Alabama player instead of an Auburn player.
It’s different because specifically what Ty Flournoy-Smith did, the player you brought up for being recruited by Alabama, was nowhere close to being as bad as what Nick Marshall and Cam Newton did to get kicked out of their schools, just as examples. Don’t forget, they were both starters at other SEC schools so don’t pretend this is an internal Alabama/Auburn conspiracy.
Sorry, I know Cam Newton wasn’t kicked out of Florida. He left on his own after his third strike to attend community college in Texas instead of staying at Florida and being the starting QB with Urban Meyer after Tim Tebow, right? Right. Good grief. Peachy, you are trying way too hard to fit a circle where a square should be.