TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A wide receiver for the Florida State University football team has been suspended indefinitely after police arrested him for grand theft.
Da'Vante Phillips was arrested on Thursday.
Florida State sent out this statement regarding his arrest:
"Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher announced today that junior receiver Da’Vante Phillips has been indefinitely suspended from the football team in accordance with athletic department policy. He will have no further comment at this time."
According to a probable cause document, Phillips called FSU police about his wallet being stolen back in February, saying that there were multiple transactions on his bank account.
Of the 14 charges that were on the account, four of them were $700. The others ranged from $100 to $101.
When police investigated, they found that the $700 checks appeared to have been altered. They wrote that a suspect used a substance to hide the original amount of the checks and changed them.
Police then went to a Publix where the checks were purchased from.
The probable cause document says that surveillance video caught Phillips at that same Publix, purchasing the checks. They also were able to find surveillance footage of him depositing the checks at a SunTrust Bank ATM machine.
The document says the original checks' Phillips purchased were worth $485.89 and not the $2,800 that was deposited into Phillips account.
Through an investigation, FSU Police were able to connect Philips to the four altered checks worth $700.
Police say the fraud began on January 13 and ended on January 19. They say SunTrust lost $563.25 due to the fraudulent activity.
Authorities say Phillips turned himself in.
