GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -A Florida football player was kicked off the team Friday after turning himself in on charges he used the gas credit card of a woman who was killed along with another player in a motorcycle accident.
Jamar Hornsby, a 21-year-old junior safety, learned Thursday that a judge had issued a warrant for his arrest on charges he used the dead woman's gas card for six months, so he surrendered on charges of credit card theft and fraudulent use of a credit card, lawyer Huntley Johnson said.
Hornsby was released from jail several hours later on his own recognizance.
It was not immediately clear how Hornsby got the card. Johnson declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said they would cooperate with authorities.
The credit card belonged to Ashley Slonina, a Florida junior. She was riding a motorcycle with another football player, redshirt freshman Michael Guilford, last October that hit a median at a high rate of speed, police said. The two died at the scene. They were not wearing helmets.
Hornsby started using the gas card the day after Slonina died. The card was used 33 times in Alachua County and another 37 times in Jacksonville, where Hornsby is from. The total amount was $3,000, said Alachua County Sheriff's Office spokesman Stephen Maynard.
``I would love to hear the explanation for utilizing the card of a deceased person,'' Maynard said.
The sheriff's office will continue to investigate and forward their findings to the State Attorney's Office, Maynard said.
Florida coach Urban Meyer said in a statement that Hornsby ``is not part of our program.''
Hornsby missed five games last season after being suspended for selling free football tickets he received as a student. He was also arrested in April 2007 after a fight in Gainesville, but his lawyer said those charges were dropped.
State prosecutors did not return phone messages or e-mails seeking comment.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
