JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two former Jacksonville football stars who once played together in high school and college before continuing their careers in the NFL, stood on separate sides of a courtroom Tuesday morning at the Duval County Courthouse.
As the I-TEAM first reported last month, Jabar Gaffney is charged with felony criminal mischief in connection with the June 17 vandalism of Lito Sheppard's car in Jacksonville Beach. Following that vandalism, Sheppard was granted a temporary restraining order to keep Gaffney away.
Tuesday's court hearing was specific to that temporary order, with the judge deciding to keep the injunction of protection in place until there is a resolution in the criminal case against Gaffney.
How it started
On June 17, Father's Day, Lito Sheppard parked his BMW in a lot near the Jacksonville Beach pier to have dinner with his wife at a nearby restaurant. It wasn't until after the couple drove away that they realized something was wrong with the car. It was towed to a dealership where $14,000 worth of damage was discovered.
Sheppard obtained surveillance video to find out what happened to his BMW, and then he shared that video with News4Jax.
It shows two vandals, a man and a woman, prying open the gas cap of his car, pouring something inside his tank and slashing all four tires.
WATCH LITO SHEPPARD'S CAR VANDALIZED:
Highlights | Uncut surveillance video
Out of concern the man in the video was Jabar Gaffney, Sheppard requested an order of protection against him. On June 21, that temporary order was granted.
Weeks later, on July 5, Jacksonville Beach Police issued an arrest warrant for Gaffney, charging him with felony criminal mischief in connection with the vandalism. Even though Gaffney lives in Duval County, the I-TEAM learned he actually turned himself in to the Baker County Sheriff's Office the following day. He was booked and released on a $30,000 bond.
In Gaffney's arrest warrant obtained by News4Jax, the Jacksonville Beach Police detective investigating Sheppard's vandalism case:
- Went to the dealership where Sheppard's BMW was towed
- Obtained a fuel sample from the car
- Obtained the fuel door and gas cap to be processed for fingerprints and DNA
The arrest warrant also goes into detail about the vandalism seen in the surveillance video from 8:27 p.m. to 8:57 p.m. on June 17 and described the vandals as driving a black Audi.
The warrant later notes that surveillance video recorded in Gaffney's Jacksonville neighborhood on the same day shows a black Audi driven by a female with Gaffney as the passenger. It states they left the neighborhood at 7:09 p.m., roughly 90 minutes before the vandalism occurred.
Gaffney's attorney, Seth Schwartz, has said his client is innocent, and in court Tuesday regarding the temporary order of protection, he told Judge Tyrie Boyer there is no proof Gaffney is the man seen in the surveillance video and asked that the temporary order against his client be dropped.
Judge Boyer didn't do that, and instead extended it saying he wants to wait until the criminal charge against Gaffney is resolved before deciding if the order for protection should be dropped or if it should become permanent. The next hearing for that temporary order is scheduled for November.
However, both Gaffney and Sheppard could be back in court as early as next week when a different judge is expected to hear more details about the criminal mischief charge involving the vandalism of Sheppard's car.