Brandon Flowers Arrested

The Roanoke Times reported this morning that Virginia Tech
reserve cornerback Brandon Flowers, expected to be a key contributor for the
Hokies this coming fall, was arrested Thursday and charged with the misdemeanor
of carrying a concealed weapon. The arrest followed an incident in which a
passenger in Flowers’ GMC Envoy SUV brandished a gun at a student in a parking
lot. The student reported the incident, and when Flowers’ SUV was located and
searched by Virginia Tech police, a pellet gun was found in a seat pouch.

The
Roanoke Times reported
the following facts as given by Virginia Tech Police Department spokesman
Wendell Flinchum:

• A Tech student walking through a campus parking lot was
  almost struck by a blue GMC Envoy with Florida plates. The student got into
  an argument with an unidentified passenger in the Envoy.

• The Envoy circled around the lot, passing by the
  student again. The passenger leaned out the window and pointed a gun at the
  student, then the Envoy drove off.

• The student reported the vehicle description and
  license plate number to the VT police. VT police located the Envoy, which
  belongs to Flowers, a Florida native, in a parking lot near Cassell
  Coliseum. The VT police searched the Envoy and found the pellet gun in a
  seat pouch behind a seat.

The
state statute against carrying concealed weapons applies to pellet guns. The
charge carries a maximum 12-month jail sentence and $2,500 fine. The type of gun
in Flowers’ car reportedly looks like the Glock handguns commonly used by police
(shown at right).

As of the time of this news release, the passenger in
Flowers’ Envoy had not been identified, located, or charged.

The Virginia Tech Comprehensive
Action Plan (CAP), which governs student-athlete behavior, includes the
following information about misdemeanor charges:

Misdemeanor Charge and/or Conviction
– Any student-athlete who is arrested, charged and/or convicted of a
misdemeanor charge (other than gambling or game fixing whih are addressed
above and other than minor traffic infractions) will be subject to a review
process. The Athletic Director will review the charges and all the surrounding
circumstances. The Athletic Director may then impose sanctions. The factors
which the Athletic Director will consider include, but are not limited to:

A. Nature of charge (violent or non-violent)
B. Prior behavior
C. Self Disclosure of the violation
D. Cooperation during the investigation
E. Alcohol and/or drug use
F. Consistency with regard to handling of other cases

Sanctions imposed by the Athletic Director can
include, but shall not be limited to:

A. Warning
B. Probation
C. Restricted use of athletic services or facilities
D. Suspension from play and/or practice for a stated period of time
E. Dismissal from the team (only available for a conviction or if the
student-athlete pleads guilty or no contest to a misdemeanor). In the event
of dismissal from the team, the student-athlete shall retain her/his
grant-in-aid for the balance of the academic year. The Athletic Department
shall recommend to the Scholarship Committee in the Virginia Tech Office of
Financial Aid that the grant-in-aid not be renewed for any succeeding
academic years.

This review process will be used when Athletic
Department employees first learn of the charge and/or arrest. This review
process will also be utilized again, in its entirety, if there is then a
conviction resulting from the charge and/or arrest. The student-athlete may
appeal any decision made pursuant to this review process by following the
Appeals Procedure found in this Handbook.

The Virginia Tech University
Policies for Student Life, which govern the behavior of the student body as
a whole, contains the following passage with regards to weapons (emphasis added
by TechSideline.com):

Unauthorized possession, storage, or control of firearms
and weapons on university property is prohibited, including storing weapons
in vehicles on campus as well as in the residence halls. (Note:
organizational weapons of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, approved by the
commandant, are not prohibited by this policy.)

Firearms are defined as any gun, rifle, pistol, or
handgun designed to fire bullets, BBs, pellets, or shots (including paint
balls), regardless of the propellant used. Other weapons are defined as any
instrument of combat or any object not designed as an instrument of combat but
carried for the purpose of inflicting or threatening bodily injury. Examples
include but are not limited to knives with fixed blades or pocket knives with
blades longer than 4 inches, razors, metal knuckles, blackjacks, hatchets,
bows and arrows, nun chukkas, foils, or any explosive or incendiary device.
Possession of realistic replicas of weapons on campus is prohibited. Students
who store weapons in residence hall rooms, who brandish weapons, or who use a
weapon in a reckless manner may face disciplinary action, which may include
suspension or dismissal from the university.

Flowers, a 5-10, 186-pound redshirt freshman from Delray
Beach, Florida, is expected to play a key role as a backup cornerback in 2005.
He is regarded as VT’s third-best cornerback, behind Jimmy Williams and Roland
Minor, and is slotted for significant playing time this fall. Flowers played in
one game last year as a true freshman, returning an interception for a touchdown
against Western Michigan, before a broken leg forced him to take a medical
redshirt year.