Two Florida Gators freshmen arrested

Florida Gators freshmen Tyrie Cleveland and Rick Wells were arrested on Sunday night after being accused of firing BB guns and causing more than $1,000 in property damage at Keys Residential housing on campus.

Wells and Cleveland are currently being held at Alachua County Jail on two charges: firing a weapon-missile into a dwelling, vehicle or building (second degree felony) and damage property-criminal mischief resulting in $1000 or more damage (third degree felony).

A University of Florida police reports states that an officer was dispatched to Keys around 11:30 on Sunday. The officer noticed three windows had been shattered, with small, round holes in each. After reviewing video surveillance, two males were seen shooting at the windows around 6:45 on Sunday. Wells and Cleveland were both identified by their student identification cards. Wells admitted to the wrongdoing and surrendered the BB gun to the officer; both players were arrested and booked early Monday morning (3:38 am).

Cleveland and Wells grew up together in Jacksonville before Cleveland’s family moved to the Houston area. Wells committed to Florida well over a year ago and Cleveland was one of the top-ranked receivers in the country last year, expected to be able to play as a freshman for the Gators.

**UPDATE (Monday 1:58 pm):** Jim McElwain released a brief statement through the Florida Gators Twitter saying.

This is not the behavior that we expect and as I often talk about there will be consequences for their actions.”

** UPDATE (Monday 3:00 p.m.): ** Both Wells and Cleveland have been released from Alachua County jail on their own recognizance. 

Tyrie Cleveland
Tyrie Cleveland
Rick Wells
Rick Wells
Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC