As reports surfaced that Florida State Seminoles quarterback Deondre Francois is being investigated for domestic abuse, more information has surfaced.
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Earlier on Wednesday, it was being reported that the quarterback is being investigated for a domestic violence incident that allegedly took place in a Tallahassee apartment complex early Wednesday morning. This was according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
Police arrived on the scene around 12:35 a.m. in response to a domestic battery call, multiple sources confirmed to the newspaper. The report also claimed that police call notes show the authorities responded to a domestic incident during that time.
A few hours later, more information surfaced, showing differing statements coming from Francois and the alleged victim.
The following details are from the TPD incident report (H/T Warchant):
Francois said he was relaxing at home with friend and FSU teammate Zaquandre White when his girlfriend returned home and brought up a previous argument. Francois said he asked his girlfriend to leave, at which point she became angry and began "breaking things." He said she threw a vase across the room, causing it to break as well.
Francois said he tried to pick his girlfriend up by wrapping his arms around her "like a hug" to stop her from causing damage and to remove her from the house. But he said he let her go when she started to swing at him and said she would call police to report him for domestic violence.
Francois also requested that the responding police officers take photographs of the scene and the damaged property, which they did, according to the report.
Francois' girlfriend, who is not being named by Warchant because she is an alleged victim in the case, gave an entirely different version of the events. While saying she did not want to press charges against Francois, she said the incident started when she talked to one of his friends and he told her she couldn't speak to other guys. She said Francois broke down the door to her bedroom, picked her up and threw her to the ground, causing a cut on her forearm, and also tried to remove her from the house.
She also told police that she was about nine weeks' pregnant with Francois baby and that she had told him previously about the pregnancy. The girlfriend then asked the police to take a photo of her injury, which they did.
Francois disputed his girlfriend's account about the cut and said she sustained it when she broke the vase. He also acknowledged that his girlfriend had told him she was pregnant, but added that he didn't believe her because she has lied in the past and has shown no signs of being pregnant.
The only witness to the incident was White, who backed up Francois' account of the events. White provided a written statement and said that Francois only touched his girlfriend in an attempt to stop her from breaking things and to defend himself when she swung at him.
Based on the "conflicting statements and lack of independent witnesses," the responding officers stated that there was not enough evidence to make an arrest for battery. The report states that Francois agreed to leave the house for the night and let his girlfriend stay there.
The case is being considered "open/inactive."
State attorney Jack Campbell told the Tallahassee Democrat that his office is working with Tallahassee Police on the case.
To be clear, regardless of the information, it is time to remember that everyone who is not directly involved in this investigation — fans, outside media, casual observers — would be best suited to not jump to any conclusions one way or another.
