Florida Gators CB J.C. Jackson remains in jail on felony charge, not cooperating with police

By Adam Silverstein
April 20, 2015

Florida Gators redshirt freshman cornerback J.C. Jackson remains in jail Monday on $150,000 bond as he is being charged with a first-degree felony in connection with an armed robbery that occurred in Gainesville, Florida, over the weekend.

According to The Gainesville Sun, Jackson “has refused to cooperate with investigators” as the Gainesville Police Department hopes to identify and bring in the other two men that committed the alleged crime.

Seeing as Jackson was a participant in the alleged crime but did not brandish the firearm or take direct part in the robbery, GDP spokesman Ben Tobias told the paper that Jackson would likely be better off speaking to police and working out a deal as opposed to remaining silent on the matter.


A potential impediment to Jackson speaking with police at this time is his lack of permanent legal counsel. According to the Orlando Sentinel‘s Edgar Thompson, Jackson was represented in Alachua County Court during his first appearance by Gainesville attorney Huntley Johnson; however, Johnson has yet to decide whether to take Jackson’s case.

Johnson is well-known as a local area attorney that has represented nearly every Gators athlete in legal matters – serious and otherwise – over the last decade-plus.

Jackson stands accused of making plans to visit the resident of an acquaintance, supposedly with the goal of smoking marijuana, only to open the door without knocking before insinuating he was going outside to take a phone call. That is when two men that arrived with him entered the residence, threatened those in the apartment with a handgun and forced them to the floor before taking their belongings, which included $382 in cash, marijuana and two video game consoles.

Unlike his alleged co-conspirators, who were not identified and remain at large, Jackson was identified by the apartment resident and subsequently turned himself in to Gainesville police early Sunday morning.

A standout during spring practice who was expected to be a prominent part of Florida’s defense and special teams in 2015, Jackson has struggled to keep himself out of trouble as he has now been in two gun-related and two marijuana-related incidents since joining the Gators. While in his hometown of Immokalee, Florida, on Christmas Eve, Jackson was grazed by a bullet during a drive by shooting while sitting in a car. Just days earlier, Jackson was in a car driven by sophomore quarterback Treon Harris that was pulled over on campus; marijuana was found in the vehicle but no one was charged with possession as it was not on anyone’s person.

The Gators have yet to make any definitive decision regarding Jackson.

“We are aware of the news involving J.C. Jackson, and he is currently dealing with a serious issue,” head coach Jim McElwain said in a statement released by the school on Sunday. “We don’t condone any of his actions, and it is not something that reflects on the expectations we have in the program. It is being handled accordingly due to the severity of his actions.”

12 Comments

  1. SW FL Joe says:

    “It’s really a shame,” former Immokalee head coach Rich Dombroski said. “He was by far the best athlete I’ve ever been around as a coach. Now, a complete waste of talent, in my opinion, but I’m not shocked at all. … I was truly hoping, with him getting out of Immokalee, he would stay on the straight and narrow, play some college football and get a degree.”

    I don’t get how kids with so much God given ability can just be so stupid. What part of this did JC think was a good idea? The “I’ll come over and we’ll get high” part is poor decision making at best. Add in the “I’ll leave so you can rob them and we’ll split it 3 ways” part and you have complete mental failure. How he could be making grades to stay eligible is beyond me.

    On the plus side, it will free up a scholly for next year.

  2. G2 says:

    What a bummer but its that time of year when guys start getting in trouble. Hope he can find a way to save his career but doesn’t look too good. Kids can turn things around, A Morrison example.

    I’m sure Muschamps licking his chops about right now.

  3. Oldflyer says:

    G2, what a stupid thing to say. I know that the hatred for Muschamp, who only went 8-4 his last year (I count Idaho as a win), and who took another job after being fired, and then actually worked for his new employer is almost rabid. But, try to get over it.

    As for Jackson. No sympathy. College football is coming close to a “my thugs can beat your thugs” contest. My love for the game is souring.

    Thank goodness for high school track and Cross Country where a very high percentage of the athletes are honor roll students and exemplary citizens.

    • G2 says:

      Why is that stupid, Auburn has a history of taking our rejects and way-wards. Heard of Cam Newton? There are more, just so happens Muschamps on that side of the ball.

      The way this looks he’s not going to be playing for anyone for a long time.

    • Mike The Red says:

      I am also getting tired of the thugs we seem to be recruiting.

      However, picking on Auburn and Muschamp is fair game. Auburn seems to be gobbling up our rejects. As for Muschamp, he got paid $6.3 million to steal our recruits after trashing our program and throwing a few players under the bus (…remember Westbrook? ….) No pity for him.

  4. Timmy T says:

    Just cut ties and be done with him, Mac. Players need to have a “Coach don’t play.”, mentality. Instill it now.

  5. Gatoralum88 says:

    Mac!…You need to act!…& cut your ties with this loser! The longer you wait is just making you look bad!

    The longer it’s tied to Mac, his program, & UF the worse it looks for all involved. What are he & Foley waiting for?…the legal process to play out? It’s almost as “open & shut” as the Aaron Hernandez case. Since the victims are saying they don’t know the two men who robbed them, clearly, Jackson set it up (hence the 1st degree “premeditation” charge)…meaning he’ll DEFINITELY serve some time for his role in it. The mandatory minimum in cases like these is 10 years for those with the weapons…& 5 1/2 years (66 months) for those involved without a weapon unless there’s a plea.

    Any chance this loser had of helping his cause & mitigating his involvement were lost by not cooperating with police. With bail as high as it is & the other suspects still at large he won’t be getting out of jail any time soon. Mac!…Hello?…What are you waiting for?…Wake up!…The time has come for you to DISMISS THIS LOSER!

  6. SW FL Joe says:

    Anybody think the 2 that he is covering for are football players?

  7. Mike The Red says:

    Folks… as much as this kid is an idiot, let the legal process play out. Coach Mac is doing the right thing.

    Didn’t we learn anything from the Treon Harris incident last year? You never know what information is going to emerge.

    Cutting him lose now as opposed to the end of summer is not going to make a difference. Quite the opposite, it may be good for a few of his teammates to watch a fellow teammate spend the summer in jail. I suspect that coach Mac and possibly even attorney Johnson have made a decision to do just that.

    As for cooperating with the police, he is right to keep his mouth shut until he gets legal council.

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