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Feb 15, 2006
GAINESVILLE - When University of Florida receiver Andre Caldwell lent his 2002 GMC Yukon to former teammate Dee Webb on Saturday, Caldwell didn't expect to find himself lying on the ground next to the vehicle as police removed two guns.
That's what happened early Sunday morning when Caldwell - a former Jefferson High star - dropped off Webb at Webb's apartment at the request of Gainesville police. Officers wanted to know who shot the round that embedded itself in the interior wall of the bedroom of one of Webb's neighbors at an off-campus apartment complex late Saturday night.
"They had me on the ground," Caldwell said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "I didn't know what was going on."
Caldwell said he learned that police found a loaded Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun in his vehicle. Caldwell said Webb - a former starting cornerback who recently declared himself eligible for the NFL draft - told Caldwell he put the guns in the vehicle. Police also found an AR-15 rifle and an AK-47 rifle inside Webb's apartment, spokesman Keith Kameg said. All four guns belonged to Webb, Kameg said.
Kameg said the .38 and the shotgun were visible, but not accessible to anyone in the vehicle. Kameg said no charges were filed because that is the legal way to transport firearms.
Kameg said police still are trying to determine the identity of the person who fired the shot into the apartment, which was occupied by two of its three residents at the time.
Caldwell said he arrived after the fact to drop off Webb. Caldwell said he had nothing to do with the shooting.
"I wasn't around," he said.
Florida athletic department spokesman Steve McClain said Tuesday the department had no statement.
Kameg said Caldwell and Florida cornerback Reggie Lewis, who was in the car with Caldwell and Webb, cooperated fully with police.
Webb, however, did not cooperate, Kameg said.
"He repeatedly asked to go to jail," Kameg said. "He appeared intoxicated, according to the report. He said he was going to have a million-dollar NFL contract and that his lawyers would take care of it."
Kameg said officers tried to explain to Webb that no one would be arrested unless police could determine who fired the shot, but Webb - who denied firing the gun - was adamant that he be handcuffed.
"It was almost comical," Kameg said.
When she learned of the investigation Tuesday, Deborah Caldwell wasn't laughing. Andre Caldwell's mother said she thought she had made it clear to her son that he wasn't to lend his vehicle to anyone. She also said she and her husband do not want their son around guns.
"We're zero-tolerance," she said.
Kameg said whoever fired the shot was lucky it only struck the wall.
"These girls [in the neighboring apartment] were very fortunate," Kameg said. "This could have been very different."
GAINESVILLE - When University of Florida receiver Andre Caldwell lent his 2002 GMC Yukon to former teammate Dee Webb on Saturday, Caldwell didn't expect to find himself lying on the ground next to the vehicle as police removed two guns.
That's what happened early Sunday morning when Caldwell - a former Jefferson High star - dropped off Webb at Webb's apartment at the request of Gainesville police. Officers wanted to know who shot the round that embedded itself in the interior wall of the bedroom of one of Webb's neighbors at an off-campus apartment complex late Saturday night.
"They had me on the ground," Caldwell said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "I didn't know what was going on."
Caldwell said he learned that police found a loaded Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun in his vehicle. Caldwell said Webb - a former starting cornerback who recently declared himself eligible for the NFL draft - told Caldwell he put the guns in the vehicle. Police also found an AR-15 rifle and an AK-47 rifle inside Webb's apartment, spokesman Keith Kameg said. All four guns belonged to Webb, Kameg said.
Kameg said the .38 and the shotgun were visible, but not accessible to anyone in the vehicle. Kameg said no charges were filed because that is the legal way to transport firearms.
Kameg said police still are trying to determine the identity of the person who fired the shot into the apartment, which was occupied by two of its three residents at the time.
Caldwell said he arrived after the fact to drop off Webb. Caldwell said he had nothing to do with the shooting.
"I wasn't around," he said.
Florida athletic department spokesman Steve McClain said Tuesday the department had no statement.
Kameg said Caldwell and Florida cornerback Reggie Lewis, who was in the car with Caldwell and Webb, cooperated fully with police.
Webb, however, did not cooperate, Kameg said.
"He repeatedly asked to go to jail," Kameg said. "He appeared intoxicated, according to the report. He said he was going to have a million-dollar NFL contract and that his lawyers would take care of it."
Kameg said officers tried to explain to Webb that no one would be arrested unless police could determine who fired the shot, but Webb - who denied firing the gun - was adamant that he be handcuffed.
"It was almost comical," Kameg said.
When she learned of the investigation Tuesday, Deborah Caldwell wasn't laughing. Andre Caldwell's mother said she thought she had made it clear to her son that he wasn't to lend his vehicle to anyone. She also said she and her husband do not want their son around guns.
"We're zero-tolerance," she said.
Kameg said whoever fired the shot was lucky it only struck the wall.
"These girls [in the neighboring apartment] were very fortunate," Kameg said. "This could have been very different."
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