TE A.C. Leonard arrested for domestic battery

Updated at 7:45 p.m.

Florida Gators freshman tight end A.C. Leonard was arrested Wednesday night for misdemeanor domestic battery and suspended from the team indefinitely by head coach Will Muschamp Thursday evening.

Leonard, who had an altercation with his girlfriend of 17 months (the two have lived together for about one month), was booked into jail Wednesday night and appeared in court for the first time Thursday morning before being released on his own recognizance.

From The Gainesville Sun:

According to the report, the couple had been arguing around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday when Leonard, “shoved her forcibly with both hands in her chest/neck area. The force of the shove knocked her down to the ground, causing her head to strike a dog cage that was behind her.”

The woman told [Officer Amanda] Prince that Leonard told her to get her belongings and leave, then followed her into the bedroom where he grabbed her by her hair and tried to drag her out of the apartment. According to the arrest report, when the woman resisted, Leonard, “Grabbed her by both feet and pulled her out of the apartment,” then locked her out of the apartment.

Being represented by Gainesville, FL attorney Huntley Johnson, Leonard will not be allowed to have any contact with the woman by judge’s orders and must find a separate place to live at least until the court makes a judgment on his case.

Leonard, who is facing a first-degree misdemeanor for his actions, refused comment when he was arrested, only telling police: “I never hit her. I just wanted her to leave.”

It is Leonard’s first arrest as a Florida football player and the 10th since Muschamp took over the Gators in January 2011.

“This behavior will not be tolerated and A.C. has been suspended from team activities at this time,” Muschamp said. “I certainly don’t condone this type of behavior — it is not what we expect from the University of Florida football program.”

Of Florida’s other nine arrests since Muschamp arrived, eight were for either underage drinking or marijuana possession with one coming for driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest. Three of the eight players previously arrested are no longer with the Gators football program.