Video shows punch that led to QB De'Andre Johnson's arrest
The State Attorney's Office released surveillance video today of Florida State University quarterback De'Andre Johnson punching a woman at a bar last month.
State Attorney Willie Meggs said he decided to charge Johnson, 19, with misdemeanor battery after viewing the footage from the West Tennessee Street bar Yiannis on June 24.
Warning: The video contains violent content.
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Florida State University freshman quarterback De'Andre Johnson turned himself in at the Leon County Jail on June 30 after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Johnson, 19, is being charged with misdemeanor battery. He was released from the Leon County Jail on $500 bond Thursday.
The State Attorney's Office in Tallahassee issued an arrest warrant for Johnson Tuesday. Johnson, 19, is accused of punching a woman in the face at a West Tennessee bar during an argument on the night of June 24, according to court documents.
The incident occurred while the woman was waiting in line for a drink at Yianni's nightclub and felt Johnson push past her aggressively, court records say.
When she addressed him at the bar, she raised her arm to defend herself, and he grabbed her arm and began pushing her. She raised her knee into his midsection to push him away and attempted to punch him, court records say, before Johnson punched her on the left side of her face.
The woman suffered bruising near her left eye, swelling of the left cheek and upper lip, and a small cut near the bridge of her nose, according to court records.
Johnson left the bar after the incident and the woman remained.
State Attorney Willie Meggs, who will prosecute the case, said the woman still had the black eye when she met with prosecutors Tuesday.
He said he reached the decision to charge Johnson after reviewing surveillance video from the bar.
The woman is moving forward with battery charges.
"She's a good witness and she wants to testify," Meggs said. "She's a little nervous about it."
Tuesday, Johnson retained well-known criminal defense attorney Jose Baez, who said in a news release he "would investigate the accusations against Johnson thoroughly."
Baez represented and secured an acquittal in the murder trial of Casey Anthony in Orlando and also the release of U.S. businessman Gary Giordano who was detained in the 2011 disappearance of a woman in Aruba.
Johnson was identified after being named by witnesses at the scene and was confirmed through video evidence. He was suspended indefinitely from the football team last week for a violation of "athletic department policy," the school announced in a statement Thursday.
A full probable cause affidavit naming Johnson was released Tuesday. Last week in a heavily redacted report of the incident, Johnson's name did not appear, but the suspect's race, sex and estimated age of 22 or 23 years old were made available.
The victim's name and contact information, however, appeared in the report — leading to much dismay and criticism of the Tallahassee Police Department on Friday.
"We are treating this case like we treat all other cases," TPD spokesman David Northway said in a phone interview with the Tallahassee Democrat on Friday.
"We redacted it, per Florida statute. And we had to release the victim's name because she did not fall into an exemption, and we're not allowed to just take their names out. And we had to — we had — to redact the suspect's name in the case because it's an ongoing investigation."
Cases involving sexual assault, child abuse or conflicts in domestic relationships — if a victim asks for his/her name to be redacted in writing — are the only circumstances in which a victim's name would not be listed in a report, per Florida law.
According to FSU's athletics policy, if a student-athlete is being charged with a misdemeanor or felony, or convicted of a misdemeanor offense, the department would make a decision on discipline on a case-by-case basis.
Athletes convicted of a felony are expelled from the school, per the policy.
A full probable cause affidavit naming Johnson was released Tuesday. Last week in a heavily redacted report of the incident, Johnson's name did not show up, but the suspect's race, sex and estimated age of 22 or 23 years old were made available.