UF Football Player Faces Gun Charges
Posted By Andy Staples at Jun 14, 2007 at 04:23 PM
Updated Jun 14, 2007 at 04:25 PM
By ANDY STAPLES
The Tampa Tribune
GAINESVILLE - Suspended University of Florida offensive lineman Ronnie Wilson will face a pair of misdemeanor charges stemming from an April incident in which he was arrested and accused of firing an AK-47 rifle into the air to scare a man who had followed Wilson in his car after the men fought in a nightclub.
State Attorney Bill Cervone said Thursday that Wilson has been charged with one count of battery and one count of discharging a firearm in public. Gainesville police had recommended Wilson be charged with a felony count of aggravated assault and a count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Cervone said an investigation by his office determined Wilson may have been acting in self-defense when he pulled the gun from his trunk in a parking lot, but Cervone said Wilson should not have pulled the trigger.
?Actually firing a round,? Cervone said Thursday, ?goes beyond what Florida law on self-defense allows.?