Jessamen Dunker arrested: Florida OL charged with grand theft auto

Florida freshman Jessamen Dunker has been arrested for felony grand theft auto and been booked into Alachua County Jail, according to 247Sports' Thomas Goldkamp.

#Gators freshman OL Jessamen Dunker is currently in Alachua County Jail on charges of grand theft auto. More coming shortly.

— Thomas Goldkamp (@Goldkamp247) January 16, 2013

Dunker's booking report indicates that he has been charged with grand theft auto under Florida statute 812.014.2c6 and driving with a suspended license.

That statute reads:

(c) It is grand theft of the third degree and a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the property stolen is:

6. A motor vehicle, except as provided in paragraph (a).

Paragraph (a) covers property valued between $300 and $5,000, so it's probably safe to say Dunker did not steal a scooter. (It should also be noted that I am not a lawyer and could have this wrong.)

Update: I totally had that wrong. Paragraph (a) covers ways in which grand theft auto can be a first-degree crime, which include thefts of semitrailers and precious cargo and the use of the stolen vehicle to commit other crimes or cause damage. These do not seem like elements of Dunker's incident.

Dunker was one of Florida's finer recruits in 2012, and spent the fall redshirting. He was expected to compete for a position on the interior of Florida's offensive line in 2013.

There are crimes that deserve second chances, and arrests that don't carry much public blowback if the football players that commit them remain on college football teams. Grand theft auto is probably not one of them, and I would expect Dunker to be immediately and indefinitely suspended at least.