Aaron Hernandez's troubles don't surprise many in Gainesville - Orlando Sentinel
The fact is, nobody in Gainesville is totally shocked that Hernandez seems to be a person of interest in a homicide probe.
Especially not Johnson, the man who is famous for not only representing UF athletes but making their troubles disappear into the legal limbo land of dropped charges and deferred prosecutions.
When Urban Meyer coached in Gainesville, we media cynics used to call Johnson the most valuable member of UF's staff even though he doesn't actually work for the Gators. Even so, he was Meyer's ingenious and innovative "defensive coordinator" because he was so effective at defending some of the Urbanator's gun-toting, bar-fighting miscreants and malcontents.
Some athletes just always seem to find trouble, and Hernandez was certainly one of them at UF. It started in his freshman season when he was arrested after getting into a fight with a bouncer at a bar near campus. He was a juvenile then and got off with a slap on the wrist.
According to the Sporting News, Hernandez also had some controlled-substance issues and was suspended for failed drug tests later in his tenure at UF.
Hernandez was among four Gator football players questioned in a 2007 shooting incident in Gainesville. None of the players was arrested, but detectives questioned them about the shootings of Corey Smith and Justin Glass on the Sunday morning after Florida lost to Auburn in 2007.
According to a Orlando Sentinel report at the time, police said Smith, 28, and Glass, 19, were driving around in traffic about 2:30 a.m. when a man began shooting into their car. Smith was critically wounded in the head while Glass was shot in the arm. Hernandez declined to discuss the case with reporters back then and was never charged with any crime.
