Gainesville Police began an investigation Friday to determine if the department had any involvement gathering information to quash a warrant for the arrest of former UF football player Loucheiz Purifoy.
On March 18, Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies commanded the arrest of the 21-year-old on charges of marijuana possession and synthetic narcotic possession, according to an ASO warrant affidavit.
At about 11:30 p.m., a deputy on foot patrol confronted Purifoy because marijuana smoke was coming out of the car he was in. When the deputy approached Purifoy, who was in the driver’s seat, Purifoy was holding a blunt, according to the warrant.
A search of the car revealed two bags with about 0.7 grams of bath salts, according to the warrant. During questioning, Purifoy told officers he thought he had bought molly.
Purifoy made a motion to quash the warrant April 16, giving the following reasons:
He stated he retained counsel, has no prior significant history and has no prior instances of failing to appear to court dates. In addition, Purifoy said he will make himself available to law enforcement and will waive his right to a speedy trial.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Jeanne Singer was consulted about the motion and did not object, according to court documents. The arrest warrant was canceled the next day.
Gainesville Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said Sheriff Sadie Darnell reached out to GPD Chief Tony Jones to look into the matter.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 4/23/2014 under the headline "UF football player Purifoy’s law run-in sparks GPD investigation"]
