A group of UF football players were accused of harassing a Santa Fe College student and other Gainesville residents in a recent Gainesville Police report.
On July 25, a GPD officer conducted a follow-up investigation on an ongoing incident involving the UF players’ harassment, according to the investigation report.
The officer spoke with Devante Zachery, a 22-year-old Santa Fe student, who told her the conflict started Feb. 10.
He said while he and his friends were inside of Rain Nightclub & Lounge at 17 SW First St., he got into a playful argument with three UF football players who were his friends at the time.
He said Chauncey Gardner started the argument and included Tyrie Cleveland and C’yontai Lewis.
The Alligator spoke with Jarvis Middleton, a 25-year-old soon-to-be Santa Fe student, who is friends with Zachery. He was there and said the incident started with a comment on Zachery’s Reebok outfit.
“(Zachery) screamed out ‘Bruh, you keep trying to clap, but you broke.’ The football players started talking about guns and he was like, ‘If y’all want to take it there, we can take it there,’ but they (started) arguing. They went their way, and we went our way,” Middleton said.
On Feb. 17, the GPD officer saw a large crowd come out of Rain Nightclub & Lounge shoving each other, according to the investigation report. The officer believed a fight happened because of the crowd’s hostile behavior.
Middleton was part of the fight and said the football players jumped his little brother, a couple of his cousins and Zachery. Middleton said he thought it was Lewis or a defensive lineman who threw the first punch.
The officer confirmed with the security manager that there was a fight in the nightclub between UF football players and locals, according to the report.
On Memorial Day, Zachery said a group of football players saw him on campus and started throwing rocks at his car and chasing him with pots and pans, according to the investigation report.
Middleton was also there when the incident happened. He was visiting one of his friends in the Keys Residential Complex parking lot because she was making fliers for a party he was throwing.
“We (were) out hanging… in the parking lot, and Tyrie Cleveland passed by on his moped,” Middleton said. “Maybe an hour later... about seven football players came around the corner. When we (saw) them walk past, we didn’t move.”
Middleton saw the seven players leave when more football players arrived. He thought they were up to something when he saw them snaking between the cars in the parking lot.
Middleton said they left and came back about 30 minutes later. They again saw the football players going through Keys and around the backside.
When Middleton was trying to leave, the players started throwing bricks at his car, he said. The players continued to follow them until they got away from campus.
Zachery told the GPD officer that University Police gave him a trespassing warning, according to the report.
At Keys, Middleton said he heard someone say someone had a gun. According to a police report, the weapon was an airsoft gun. When he spoke to the officer, Zachery was sure Kadarius Toney, 19, had an AR-15 and not an airsoft gun.
On July 22, a GPD officer conducted a traffic stop on a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo for a seat belt violation, according to a report. Toney was the driver.
During the stop, the officer saw a rifle in the back seat. Toney said he bought the AR-15 from Big Daddy Guns and had it in his car for protection from the locals.
The Alligator spoke with Tony McKnight, owner of Big Daddy Guns at 602 NW 75th St., who said Toney bought the weapon Feb. 8.
He said Toney originally went to the store to buy a pistol but bought an AR-15 instead when they told him he had to be 21. At the time, Toney did not have a concealed carry permit, McKnight said.
On July 4, Cleveland, 20, was knocked out by one of Zachery’s friends near Rain Nightclub & Lounge, according to the report. Zachery said Cleveland was knocked out badly and refused to name the assailant.
Zachery said Lewis told him there was money behind the harrassment and their beef would never end after what happened to Cleveland, according to the report. Zachery took this to mean there was a price on his head.
Zachery told the officer he wanted this to end because he was afraid for his life, according to the report. He allegedly received multiple phone calls, texts and voice recordings from the football players and their friends, which he began to save.
He showed the officer the voice messages and screenshots of the texts. One of the voice messages was from Lewis, who repeatedly told Zachery to come to The Ridge by telling him his exact location, type of car and where it was parked.
The officer said the messages were all about meeting to fight, according to the report. Zachery said in specific messages he wanted to end the situation because it was childish.
Zachery was willing to meet with the players and police to resolve the issue, according to the report. He gave his friend’s names who were involved in the original incident and fight and said his friends are not involved and he takes full responsibility.
He also gave the names of the football players involved, according to the report. They are Luke Ancrum, Tyrie Cleveland, Kadarius Toney, C’yontai Lewis, Vosean Joseph, Emory Jones, Rick Wells, C.J. McWilliams, Malik Davis and Chauncey Gardner.
The GPD officer told Zachery to not continue any further contact with the football players and to tell his friends to do the same, according to the report.
The screenshots and voice recordings were put into evidence. The report and information will be shared with UPD and neither Zachery’s friends or the football players have been spoken to, according to the report.
Follow Devoun Cetoute on Twitter @devoun_cetoute and contact him at dcetoute@alligator.org.
