Lawyer: Alabamaâs Tony Mitchell nearing legal resolution as he eyes football return
While Alabama sorted out a few roster questions this spring, one of its expected contributors wasn’t allowed on the field with the rest of the Crimson Tide. Instead, Tony Mitchell has spent part of his last month in Tuscaloosa training and taking classes while he’s suspended from all football activities.
The former four-star prospect is still reeling from his March 15 arrest, when authorities seized a gun, which Mitchell denied was his, almost $7,000 in cash and 226 grams of marijuana from Mitchell’s car in Holmes County, Fla. Yet, those around Mitchell believe his return is coming “real soon.”
Mitchell’s attorney Waylon Graham and father Tony Mitchell Sr. told AL.com they are close to a legal resolution with prosecutors. The new development opens a window into Mitchell’s return to Alabama football through UA’s counseling program.
“Tony is very, very sorrowful for what happened,” Graham said in a phone interview. “… We believe this case is rapidly coming to a conclusion.”
Mitchell, 19, was charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to sell and/or deliver on March 15 after a traffic stop. He, along with Christophere Lewis of Valley Grande, was in Mitchell’s Dodge Challenger “scat pack” driving 141 mph and, at first, evaded officers on Highway 79 during Alabama’s spring break before eventually being stopped and detained.
According to Graham, Mitchell may be eligible for a withhold of adjudication. This would allow prosecutors to charge Mitchell with a felony without technically convicting him of the crime. For first-time offenders in Florida, like Mitchell, a judge can sentence them straight into a probation program under this statute.
“It’s been a long process. Terrible for the family, but we’ll see past it,” Tony Mitchell Sr. said. “The comeback will be great.”
Four days after his arrest, Nick Saban announced Mitchell’s suspension from team activities with no timetable given for a return. Speaking with AL.com on Thursday, Graham projected the case’s conclusion in two-to-four weeks.
Tony Mitchell Sr. moved near UA’s campus in February to be closer to Mitchell while his legal issues, which included his arrest video being released to the public, were resolved. The next step, Graham said, will be dealing with the “internal Alabama disciplinary system.”
That could potentially lead Mitchell to Alabama’s College Recovery and Intervention Services. Per its website, CRIS offers students “alcohol and other drugs (AOD) counseling … to a vibrant Collegiate Recovery Community known as The University of Alabama Recovery Model.” The program educates members on the spiritual, psychological and financial impacts of addiction while also providing individual and family counseling, treatment planning and drug and alcohol testing.
Graham said Mitchell “reasonably has a chance” to enter the program, or a similar one, based on conversations Graham had with members of the University.
Lewis faces the same drug charge as Mitchell and a felony for carrying a concealed firearm without a permit. Because Lewis failed to appear at his pre-trial hearing on May 3 and a lawyer did not represent him in his place, a warrant has been issued for Lewis’ arrest, per an individual with knowledge of the case.
“Everybody’s got an opportunity to make choices and decisions. There’s no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Saban said after the Tide’s first practice of the spring. “You’ve got to be responsible for who you’re with, who you’re around and what you do, who you associate yourself and the situations that you put yourself in. It is what it is, but there is cause and effect when you make choices and decisions that put you in bad situations.”
Mitchell won four-straight AHSAA titles at Thompson High School. He enrolled this January in Tuscaloosa as the No. 123 prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings. Since his suspension was announced, Alabama has lost two defensive backs to the transfer portal and has brought in Trey Amos from Louisiana and UAB’s Jaylen Key.
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Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].