Ex-NBA Star Charged After Ruckus at Tavern
By Jeremy Maready
Former Kathleen High School and NBA star Alvin Jones punched a woman, caused $2,000 in damage to a BMW and kicked out the window of a police car before he was shocked with a Taser and hogtied by Tampa police after leaving a Hyde Park bar early Monday morning, police reports said.
Jones, 29, who is a 1997 graduate of Kathleen High School and former player for the Philadelphia 76ers, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, battery and resisting an officer without violence.
While Jones, who lives in Lakeland, was leaving the Whiskey Park Bar in Hyde Park, he began causing a disturbance that attracted a crowd at the entrance of the bar, according to Tampa police. An altercation occurred and Jones swung at a female Whiskey Park Bar employee, causing minor injury, police said.
Then a valet, driving a BMW, pulled up to the entrance as Jones was being arrested. Jones fell onto the hood, denting it and causing about $2,000 in damage, reports said.
"He's 6-11, so he weighs a lot," said Andrea Davis, a spokeswoman for the Tampa Police Department. "He's probably going to be responsible (in paying) for that."
After officers handcuffed Jones and placed him in a patrol car, he kicked the rear window out of the frame, police said.
When officers could not control Jones, who weighs about 270 pounds, he was stunned with a Taser one time on his leg, reports said.
But that did not calm him down and he continued to battle officers, police officials said.
That's when he was TARPed, which is another term for being hogtied.
TARPed is when a person's wrists are tied to their ankles with a nylon rope, Davis said.
"That's only used on the most combative of suspects," Davis said. "It's used for people you can't control."
After that, he continued to kick out another window of a police car.
Jones was taken to Hillsborough County Jail and released on $1,250 bail, records showed.
In 2001, Jones was drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia 76ers. He eventually left the NBA and began playing professionally in Europe until last year. During his senior year, Jones also helped lead the Kathleen Red Devils to a state championship.