A promising college football player was taken into custody during the early morning hours of May 30 following a routine traffic stop in Florida. Tim Jordan faces two misdemeanor drug possession counts and a third-degree felony weapons possession charge. According to a Polk County Sheriff’s Office report, the 20-year-old running back was released the following morning after posting a bond of $2,000.
The sequence of events that led to Jordan’s arrest took place in Lakewood at approximately 5 a.m. Officers from the Lakeland Police Department say that they decided to pull the running back’s car over after observing it exceeding the speed limit, swerving and entering a bicycle lane. After being pulled over, Jordan is said to have told the officers that he had a loaded handgun in his rear pants pocket. Officers then conducted a search of the vehicle. This allegedly led to the discovery of about 9 grams of marijuana along with a digital scale and several plastic bags. Jordan’s 17-year-old male passenger was also taken into custody.
While a University of Tennessee representative declined to comment on an ongoing criminal case, the incident could have profound consequences for one of the school’s most promising athletic stars. Jordan will enter his senior year after rushing for more than a thousand yards in his first three seasons. He picked up 428 yards on the ground for the Volunteers in 2019 alone.
When presented with facts like these, an experienced criminal defense attorney may question the validity of the vehicle search. Police officers are only permitted to conduct searches without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime will be discovered. When searches are conducted based on questionable probable cause, defense attorneys may seek to have the items found excluded and the drug offense charges against their clients dismissed.