FSU safety Shyheim Brown's one-game suspension stemmed from summer DUI charge
Florida State safety Shyheim Brown, who was suspended from the Seminoles’ home game against Memphis earlier this month, is awaiting an early October court date stemming from an arrest on charges of driving under the influence and speeding this past summer.
Warchant confirmed details of the July arrest through Jefferson County court records, and a Florida State spokesman acknowledged Thursday that Brown missed the Memphis game due to “internal discipline” following the arrest.
No further information from FSU was provided, but a source familiar with the situation told Warchant that the Seminoles’ coaching staff wasn’t made aware of the incident until earlier this month, which would explain why the suspension occurred three games into the season.
A second-year starter in the Florida State secondary, Brown is the team’s leading tackler with 32 stops in three games.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Brown was observed speeding westbound on Interstate-10 in Jefferson County on the night of July 7. He allegedly was clocked driving a Dodge Charger 117 mph in a 70 mph zone.
When Brown was pulled over, according to the report, FHP Trooper Colby Bethea stated he noticed the, “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” emanating from the vehicle. After receiving consent from Brown, according to the report, the trooper searched the car and found a nearly empty bottle of tequila.
The report states that Brown then agreed to take a field sobriety test and repeatedly lost his balance while trying to complete the exercises.
“Based on the totality of the circumstances, I believed Brown’s normal faculties to be diminished/impaired, and he was placed under lawful arrest for Driving Under the Influence,” Bethea wrote in his report. “Upon placing Brown under arrest, he admitted to having two shots of tequila just two hours prior to this incident.”
Brown then was taken to the Jefferson County Jail, where he reportedly agreed to provide breath samples; the first one registered a blood alcohol content of .203, and the second registered .199, according to the report. Both results would be more than double the legal limit in Florida of .08.
The incident took place on Sunday night following the July 4 holiday weekend, and Brown told the trooper he and his passenger were driving back to Florida State University following a trip to South Florida.
According to the report, a 9mm handgun also was found inside Brown’s car and was turned over to Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies, “for safekeeping.”
After his arrest on the misdemeanor DUI charge, Brown posted a bond of $500 and was released the following morning. According to Jefferson County court documents, Brown’s attorney entered a plea of not guilty on the DUI charge earlier this month. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 8.
The hearing for Brown’s speeding ticket, which officially was documented as driving 99 mph in a 70 mph zone, is set for Oct. 11. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty for that citation as well.
Brown returned from his suspension last week and recorded 11 tackles against Cal, and he is expected to start this Saturday night at SMU.
Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.
