Barrington remains in jail; won’t return to Vero Beach

Posted Aug 18, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Aug 18, 2010 at 08:06 PM

VERO BEACH— While his teammates practiced in the hot afternoon sun here at Dodgertown on Wednesday afternoon, sophomore linebacker Sam Barrington sweated it out in a jail cell back in Tampa.

Barrington remained in custody Wednesday awaiting a 1:30 p.m. court hearing on Thursday. Barrington was arrested Tuesday evening and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail for his latest driving-related legal trouble.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office website, Barrington was being held on two misdemeanor counts of driving without a valid license after apparently turning himself in for missing a mandatory court date scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. That court date was related to Barrington’s July 28 arrest for driving with a suspended license with knowledge—a criminal offense—according to the Hillsborough County Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Barrington had bail revoked by Judge Margaret Courtney.

Barrington, 19, of Jacksonville, was also arrested on the same charge a year ago. In May 2009, he turned himself in a month after he was pulled over. A university spokesman said he had a suspended license after failing to set up a court date related to unpaid parking tickets.

“We’re dealing with a traffic violation that he hasn’t handled very well when you look at it,’’ USF coach Skip Holtz said following Wednesday’s practice. “I don’t think Sam is a bad person and I don’t think he’s done anything malicious here, but this is a great lesson as far as doing all the little things the right way and being accountable for what you do.

“We’ll just have to see how all this plays out,’’ Holtz said. “We’ll find out a little bit more when we get back to Tampa. He will not be back here in Vero Beach.’’