FSU Football: Deondre Francois a victim of flawed drug investigation

FSU football had to deal with news of one star player’s citation for marijuana possession before the spring game – and the details of it are laughable.

Less than 48 hours before the FSU football team was scheduled to end the spring season with the annual Garnet and Gold game, the headlines became about the arrest of quarterback Deondre Francois – who was cited for having less than an ounce of marijuana in his home, a charge that was fixed when he agreed to community service, a diversion program and paying a fine.

In the days since, more has come to light about the circumstances surrounding what took place inside the home of the rising redshirt junior who many feel will be the starting quarterback for the Seminoles when they open the 2018 season against Virginia Tech – and the joke of an investigation that was led by the Tallahassee Police Department.

According to the warrant for Francois’ arrest obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, police actually thought that the FSU football player was intending to sell the drug based on a tip.

"The anonymous male tipster, who was inside Francois’s apartment in late February, said he saw a large paper grocery-type bag full of cannabis, which TPD estimated at about two pounds, present during a drug-related crime.The tip led to an investigation in which TPD collected and examined the contents of Francois’ curbside garbage on four separate occasions.But when TPD concluded its investigation of Francois last Thursday, an executed search warrant conducted at his apartment yielded just 17 grams of marijuana among other items."

So, let us just take a moment to do the math about this – a two month investigation that included going into garbage yielded an “arrest” for having just over half of an ounce of marijuana in Francois’ home. That, my friends, is some solid detective work if I have ever seen it.

Look, I’m not going to get into a debate over whether or not marijuana should be legal since the issue is a hot button one on both sides of it – and yes, with it being illegal in Florida, the FSU football quarterback should have faced some kind of trouble for being caught with any amount.

With all that being said, was this the best used of time and tax payer dollars for an investigation that yielded less than two percent of what was believed to be inside the home according to an anonymous tipster? Was it worth the defamation that was done to Francois’ character, as he will not be labeled a criminal for having the equivalent of one joint in his home at the time?

If Deondre Francois is going to be the starting quarterback for FSU football this season, he is going to have to be smarter and make better decisions – something new head coach Willie Taggart emphasized to him after the arrest.

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The same statement could be said about what the Tallahassee Police Department should do. In the past, it has been ripped by outsiders who didn’t think the prosecuted Florida State athletes enough – in this case, the department did WAY too much.