Former Florida guard Erving Walker is finally paying someone for the $3 sausage taco he failed to purchase late last month — just not the two downtown vendors he stole from.
At his arraignment Thursday morning, Walker pleaded no contest to a charge of misdemeanor petit theft and will have to pay $301 in fines and court costs to the State of Florida. Walker, 22, can clear the case from his record if he pays the full amount by Sept. 27.
The state attorney also dropped the one misdemeanor count of resisting an officer without violence Walker was charged with. On March 30 at 1 a.m., the 5-foot-8, 177-pound point guard was arrested for stealing a taco from the Tacos Locos food stand in downtown Gainesville and running away from police.
While the two owners of Tacos Locos, James Perez and Matt Hruska, said they received paperwork in the mail about Walker’s court date and how they could get compensated for their taco, they tried to keep the national story in perspective.
“I could seek restitution, but I would have to go fill out paperwork for like $3,” Perez said.
Before police were able to apprehend Walker in the 200-block of West University Avenue, Perez chased the Division-I athlete across three blocks but could only watch as Walker eventually tripped over his own feet in a nearby parking lot and dropped the uneaten taco on the asphalt.
The theft occurred less than a week after Florida’s Elite Eight loss to Louisville in the NCAA Tournament. Walker, a three-year starter at point guard and lone senior on this year’s team, ended his career as the Gators’ all-time leader in assists and minutes played.
Though Walker reportedly apologized for his actions as he was leaving his arraignment, Perez said he and Hruska don’t need to hear one from the former college star.
“If we could get those $3,” Perez said, “that would be dope.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
