College Career
On September 29, 1999, during his senior season at Florida State, Coles and teammate Peter Warrick went to a Tallahassee, Florida Dillard's department store and, with the aid of a cashier with whom they were friendly, purchased $412.38 worth of clothing and were charged only $21.40—a discount so large that it is considered shoplifting under Florida law. An off-duty officer saw the event through a surveillance camera, according to police. Coles, Warrick, and the clerk, Rachel Myrtil, were arrested for grand theft. On October 22, Coles pleaded guilty to misdemeanor petty theft and was dismissed from the Florida State Seminoles football team. At that year's rivalry game at the University of Florida, Florida Gators fans brought Dillard's bags to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to mock the team. Florida State won the game, and Seminole fans returned the mocking by requesting the bags as souvenirs.
Coles' childhood nickname was "Trouble". Coles was arrested in 1998 for simple battery, suspended for the Seminoles' 1999 season opener versus Louisiana Tech for academic reasons, and was discovered to have accepted a plane ticket from a sports agent's representative in 1999.
Read more about this topic: Laveranues Coles
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