honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 8:57 a.m., Monday, March 12, 2007

Jaguars receiver Sharon charged with stealing handgun

Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. — Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Charles Sharon was charged with stealing a handgun that police said was found under the seat of the player's sport utility vehicle during a drug-related search.

Sharon and a companion were arrested Saturday night after a Tampa police officer noticed the odor of marijuana coming from Sharon's SUV parked in the Ybor City entertainment district, a police report said.

A search of the vehicle turned up a Glock Model 27 handgun under the driver's seat. Tampa police reported that the gun was stolen last year from a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent in Putnam County, but an ATF spokesman said Monday that the weapon belonged to an agent of the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.

An official of that agency did not immediately return a phone call Monday.

Police spokeswoman Lisa Parashis said it was unclear how Sharon got the agent's gun.

Sharon was charged with grand theft of a firearm and carrying a concealed firearm, both felonies. He was released Sunday morning after paying a $4,000 bond, jail records showed.

His companion, Jebidiah Crawford, was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana after an officer found less than an ounce of it in a Jaguars duffel bag in Sharon's vehicle.

Jaguars spokesman Dan Edwards said the team had no comment on the arrest. Sharon's agent, Fletcher Smith, did not immediately return a phone message left at his office. No attorney information for Sharon was available.

Sharon, the all-time leader in receiving yards and touchdowns at Bowling Green, was a rookie in 2006. He was signed to the active roster on Nov. 22, but did not play.

It was the fourth arrest since the beginning of last season for the Jaguars.

Offensive tackle Khalif Barnes was arrested on drunken driving charges in November; in October defensive end Bobby McCray was arrested for reckless driving and possession of a controlled painkiller, although the drug charges later were dropped; and in September, cornerback Brian Williams pleaded no contest to drunken-driving charges.