Alabama defensive back Tony Mitchell is a wild boy after his vehicle on March 15th was booking it at 141 mph to evade police before being found and stopped. Initially, police attempted a traffic stop when Mitchell was clocked, going 78 mph in a 55 mph zone.
The police description of the chase reads like a movie.
“As I activated my head/tail lights and conducted a U-turn in an attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the vehicle accelerated to a high rate of speed,” the Holmes County Sherrif’s deputies wrote per AL.com. “I activated my emergency lights and siren then notified Dispatch that I was in pursuit of a Dodge Challenger. The vehicle accelerated over 141 miles per hour. I lost visual of the vehicle at Highway 79 near Sam’s Bar.
“I observed a Dodge Challenger black in color matching the same description traveling south on Highway 79,” the report continues. “I activated my emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop. I observed Mr. Mitchell’s eyes to be red and glazy. Mr. Mitchell appeared to have a slow and/or delayed response answering questions and provided me with an Alabama driver’s license. I did detect the odor of burnt marijuana coming from within the vehicle. With prior knowledge that Alabama does not issue medical marijuana cards I asked Mr. Mitchell specifically to be honest if he had any marijuana in the vehicle.
“Mr. Mitchell then reached over to the passenger side floor board and provided me through the driver side window approximately 2 ounces of marijuana.”
Jammed
Holmes County, Florida, Sheriff deputies found more than $7,000 in cash and a half pound of weed, or 226 grams, in the vehicle along with the loaded gun.
Mitchell had a passenger, Christophere Lewis, who also caught the same cannabis charge and was hit with carrying a concealed firearm without a permit. Additionally, in the police report, Mitchell “admitted ‘to fleeing law enforcement, claiming Mr. Lewis told him to ‘punch it.’”
Per police, Mitchell gave police a “baggie of marijuana.” Still, upon further search, they found the significant additional amount of the plant, a set of scales, and a large amount of cash. It doesn’t take a genius to know the rest. The duo is being charged with possession with intent to distribute.
Mitchell had a concealed weapons permit, but Lewis did not have a license. However, both denied possession of the cannabis and the firearm. The finger-pointing will most likely come when they get separated at the jailhouse.
The team suspended Mitchell and “all team activities,” coach Nick Saban said at the Crimson Tide’s first spring practice.
No Safe Harbor
“Guys, everybody’s got an opportunity to make choices and decisions,” Saban said Monday to the media. “There’s no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You have to be responsible for who you’re with, who you’re around, what you do, who you associate yourself with, and the situation you put yourself in. It is what it is, but there is cause and effect when you make choices and decisions to put you in bad situations.”
Mitchell, a freshman, is a former four-star prospect and ESPN 100 player. He was a highly-regarded high school football prospect from the state of Alabama, having also played there during his middle school football days. Mitchell played at Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama. Mitchell originally committed to Tennessee, but instead, he pledged to Alabama in June as a member of the school’s consensus No. 1 ranked football recruiting class.
More news from our partners:
