USF Scandal

TAMPA — A former University of South Florida basketball player was shot Thursday by a deputy U.S. marshal serving a drug-related warrant.

David Christopher Sills, 26, was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital after the 11:30 a.m. incident, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Jim Madden said.

Sills was shot in the torso, but his injuries were not life-threatening, Madden said. He was booked into the Orient Road Jail about 4 p.m. Friday, after being treated at St. Joseph’s. He is being held without bail.

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A police report at the time indicated that he shoved a USF parking patroller who was placing a boot on his car in the parking lot adjacent to the Bulls’ basketball arena. Officers said they found marijuana in his impounded car.

A former junior point guard for the USF Bulls, Sills was dismissed from the team in 2005, with then-coach Robert McCullum citing Sills’ poor attitude and behavior. Sills studied communications at USF for two semesters, from May until December 2005, and left without graduating, USF spokeswoman Lara Wade said.

Sills’ most recent arrest came in January, when he was charged with trafficking in cocaine. Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said a warrant had been issued for Sills’ arrest after he sold cocaine to an undercover officer in November.

On Thursday, when the shooting occurred, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force was serving a TPD-originated warrant for failure to appear in court on those charges, McElroy said.

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 7:16 am and is filed under Arrests, Drugs, Felony. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.