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Ex-Football Star Reaves Says Police Planted Cocaine
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Published: August 4, 2008
Updated: 08/04/2008 05:09 pm
John Reaves
TAMPA - Real estate agent John Reaves, a former local football star who played at the professional, collegiate and high school levels, was arrested last week on assault and drug charges.
Tampa police arrested Reaves, 58, on Wednesday afternoon. He was charged with possession of cocaine and introduction of contraband into a detention facility. He had been arrested on a warrant for aggravated assault firearm - possession, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office jail Web site.
Reaves said today he pointed a gun at someone in self-defense and that law enforcement planted the cocaine on him.
Told that Reaves said the cocaine had been planted, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said, "His statement isn't correct, and it doesn't make sense because he was already going to jail on a more serious charge than possession of drugs."
His bail was set at $9,000 after his arrest. He has since been released from jail.
Reaves pointed a chrome revolver at a person during an argument in June, and that person took pictures of the offense with a cell phone, a police report states.
An officer went to Reaves' home to apprehend him July 26 and could see someone looking out the window and later closing the wooden shutters on the inside of the front door.
"I had my firearm out and pointed it towards the door and ordered this individual out," the report states. "This met with no avail."
After attempts failed to get the person out, a shift commander ordered officers out of the area, according to the report.
Tray Williams, who took the cell phone pictures, told police he was in his home with his friend Kevin when Reaves pulled into his driveway, blowing the car horn.
Williams said today that Reaves appeared intoxicated during the confrontation and "just started yelling profanities at me. It was just awful. Just way off the cuff."
Reaves asked whether Williams knew who he was and started threatening him, Williams said.
Williams said he had moved a large foreclosure sign near his property and Reaves was upset. Williams said he left a note on the sign informing the owner that it was a traffic hazard and against city code.
Reaves said he was a realtor and "DO NOT TOUCH THAT SIGN AGAIN, YOU WANT ME TO HURT YOU," the report states.
Reaves later pulled a gun on Williams, according to the report.
Reaves said that during the argument, Williams had a cell phone in one hand and a gun in the other. The former football player said he took an unloaded gun out of his vehicle and pointed it at Williams in self-defense.
Williams said he was not carrying a gun during his confrontation with Reaves. He does own a gun but keeps it locked and inaccessible because he has children, Williams said.
"I've got a family. It's just for protection," Williams said. "Nor would I ever think of pulling it out."
While Reaves was being processed at the jail today, a deputy found cocaine in a bag in Reaves' possession, a second report states.
Reaves said six police officers stormed his office, ransacked it and searched every pocket he had before arresting him.
"They stormed my office like I was Jesse James," he said.
When he was searched in jail, a deputy pulled cocaine out of his pocket, he said.
He claimed the police officers planted it there.
Reaves' attorney, Nicholas M. Matassini, could not immediately be reached.
Reaves was renowned from his days at Robinson High School — he was the 1967 Florida high school player of the year and led his team to the Class 2A state championship game.
He set numerous career passing records at the University of Florida and became a first-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles. Although he never became a star in the National Football League, he did play professionally for 13 years — including a three-year stay with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League.
He even played two games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 1987 strike-shortened season. He also worked as an assistant coach at UF, the University of South Carolina and Cornell University.
Off the field, though, it wasn't always so good. He partied too hard and might have been headed toward self-destruction before turning his life around.
"I had started to cause a lot of problems with my family," he said in 1999. "I had gotten to the point where something had to be done."
Friends and his wife, Patti, intervened. Reaves got the help he needed through counseling and treatment and also turned to religion.
"I learned a lot over the years and made a lot of mistakes," he said in 1999. "I enjoyed life and I learned what's important. I still feel very young."
Information from Tribune archives was used in this report.
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