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Gator dismissed, faces charge of using dead woman's credit card

By Antonya English, Times Staff Writer
In print: Saturday, May 10, 2008

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ADVERTISEMENT Jamar Hornsby, 21, was thrown off the team.

GAINESVILLE — Florida safety Jamar Hornsby has been dismissed from the team after being arrested on charges of misdemeanor larceny of a credit card and felony fraudulent use of a credit card, charges his attorney disputed.

Hornsby, 21, turned himself in Friday morning to the Alachua County Jail on charges that he used a gas credit card belonging to Ashley Slonina, a Florida student who was killed in a motorcycle accident in October while riding with UF player Michael Guilford, who also died in the accident.

Florida coach Urban Meyer issued a statement Friday night saying, "He is not a part of our program." Meyer declined to elaborate before his speech at the Gator Gathering on Friday night in Orlando.

Hornsby, who would have been a redshirt junior in the fall, appeared in court Friday morning and was released on his own recognizance. He was ordered not to have contact with the Slonina family and has a curfew of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

According to jail and court records, Slonina's credit card, issued in her father's name, had an estimated 70 charges totaling nearly $3,000, beginning Oct. 13, the day after she died. Of those, 33 occurred in Gainesville and the rest in Jacksonville, Hornsby's hometown.

But Hornby's Gainesville attorney, Huntley Johnson, said his client never stole the card.

"He had her permission to use the card," Johnson told the Times on Friday afternoon. "He did not steal it. I think it's been blown way out of proportion. I understand the young lady is deceased and it looks bad, but he had her permission to use the card."

Hornsby has faced legal trouble before. In April 2007, he received deferred prosecution after being charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief for tossing a man onto a car during a fight, causing about $750 in damages to the car. Part of that 18-month deferral required he stay out of trouble for one year.

Hornsby played the first seven games last season but was suspended for the next five for selling his complimentary tickets. He played against Michigan in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando and finished the season with five tackles.

Antonya English can be reached at english@sptimes.com.