Cam Newton was arrested back in 2008 for being in possession of stolen property, and with the NCAA Cam Newton investigation into how he came to Auburn underway, it has renewed public interest in what went on there. For those that didn’t know, Newton was part of the University of Florida football program, and was one of the dozens of players that have been arrested while playing under Urban Meyer. Newton’s arrest was also rumored to be one of the reasons that he ended up leaving the university. The other reason could have simply been that he was behind a much better player in Tim Tebow when it came to the quarterback depth chart. It could have been a combination of both, but fans of Newton have mostly opted to believe he just wanted more playing time.
Back to why Cam Newton was arrested though; according to The Gainesville Sun, which reported on the alleged crimes as soon as they happened, Newton was arrested and charged on Friday, November 21, 2008. The crimes that he was charged with were felony counts of burglary, larceny, and obstruction of justice. The allegations were that Newton stole a laptop from another student (worth $1,700) and threw it out of his dorm window. The drama included accusations that he tried to hide the stolen laptop after he had been caught, which led to the further charge of Newton trying to obstruct justice by impeding the original investigation. Newton was then suspended from the team.
The charges against Newton were eventually dropped when he agreed to go through a court-approved pretrial diversion program, and there were quite a few murmurs about a college athlete getting preferential treatment in yet another court case. There was no real debate about whether Newton had the stolen laptop, especially when it was determined by authorities that it was in his possession. What he claimed was that he bought it out of the trunk of a car from someone selling electronics. Either way, Newton ended up transferring to Blinn College in Texas for the 2009 college football season, while Tim Tebow returned for his senior season to continue leading the Florida Gators. Showing he could be a star quarterback at the junior level, several Division 1 schools tried to convince him to transfer again, and it was Auburn that won out in the end. There is now an NCAA investigation into what might have transpired during that time, and that investigation is why people are again interested in his arrest record.
Source:
Gainesville_Sun_Arrest_Article
