According to a 2007 police report obtained Monday by The Wall Street Journal, Hernandez had a brush with the law at Florida before he'd even played a down.
On May 4, 2007, only months after Hernandez had enrolled at Florida, he showed up at a restaurant called The Swamp near Florida's campus in Gainesville, Fla., a two-story bar and grill that features framed jerseys of former Florida stars.
According to the police report, here's what took place: A waitress brought Hernandez two "alcoholic drinks." After Hernandez finished the drinks, a restaurant employee named Michael Taphorn delivered a bill. Hernandez said he hadn't ordered the drinks and refused to pay, at which point a "verbal altercation" began between the two men. Hernandez called a witness over to try to intervene, but a resolution couldn't be reached. Hernandez was told to leave and escorted out by Taphorn.
After stepping outside, according to the report, Hernandez told police Taphorn "got in his face" and began yelling at him. As Taphorn turned to walk away, Hernandez punched him in the side of the heada fact Hernandez did not dispute.
Taphorn complained of hearing loss in his ear but refused medical treatment on the scene, the report said. The next day, however, doctors discovered his right eardrum had burst, an injury he was told would take four to six weeks to heal, according to the police report.
Benjamin Tobias, a spokesman for the Gainesville police department, said officers did not arrest Hernandez, who was 17 at the time. But given the severity of the injury to the victim, the department recommended a charge of felony batterya crime that, for adults in Florida, carries a maximum of up to five years in prison.
Hernandez's attorney, Michael Fee, did not return emails and calls for comment. Former Florida football coach Urban Meyer, now the head football coach at Ohio State, has declined to comment on Hernandez.
Taphorn, whom colleagues described Monday as a former manager at the restaurant, could not be reached for comment. Danny Zeenberg, manager at The Swamp, said the restaurant does not serve alcohol to underage customers.
It's unclear how or whether the case was resolved. Tobias, the police spokesman, said Hernandez could have been given deferred prosecution, a type of diversion program. It's possible prosecutors declined to bring charges.
Bill Cervone, state attorney for Florida's Eighth Judicial Circuit, said he had not seen the police report from the May 2007 incident. Cervone said he could not comment on the specifics of the case because at age 17, Hernandez was a juvenile at the time. In general, Cervone said, the state of Florida sets a fairly high bar in felony battery cases. He said it is essential for the victim in such cases to testify. It is not clear from the police report whether the victim was willing to testify or not.
Tobias, the Gainesville police spokesman, said the department released the report to the Journal because the department's policy allows for such releases when police recommend a felony charge. Cervone said his office has a different standard for public disclosure. "I can't really talk about a specific juvenile case," he said.
