The father of Heisman Trophy winner and Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter was arrested in Palm Beach County on a probation violation.
Travis Hunter Sr. was booked into the Main Detention Center in West Palm Beach about 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, July 22, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office records. No bail was listed.
Hunter Sr. was sentenced on Sept. 23, 2024 to 90 days in prison stemming from a 2023 arrest on gun and drug charges. The Boynton Beach resident is serving the first of three years’ probation, with the first year essentially under home confinement.
Travis Hunter Sr.’s electronic ankle monitor was off for 11 minutes on June 28, according to documents. When contacted by the monitoring center, Hunter Sr., who lives in Boynton Beach, said he was in his bedroom while the monitoring device was in the living room. On July 1, Hunter stated he had misplaced the monitoring device and he was looking for it as the alarm was sounding.
“We’re going to set it down in front of the judge as soon as possible, hopefully by the end of the week so we can address it,” Bradford Cohen, Hunter Sr.’s attorney, said.
Travis Hunter Sr. hoped to move to Jacksonville to work for his son
Hunter Sr. was released from the Palm Beach County West Detention Center in Belle Glade in December, nine days before his son won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football. The 39-year-old former football and track star at Boynton Beach High School was not permitted to fly to New York to attend the ceremony, though Hunter Jr. gave him a heartfelt message during his acceptance speech.
The elder Hunter was allowed to go to Green Bay, Wisconsin to witness the Jaguars trade up to take his son with the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft. And he was able to attend Hunter Jr.’s wedding to Leanne Lenne in Tennessee in May.
However, a judge denied his motion to modify the terms of his sentence, meaning Hunter Sr. would not be allowed to work for his son. He was eligible to transfer the rest of his probation to anywhere in Florida at the end of September, potentially to Jacksonville to be nearer his son. It’s unclear how his recent arrest will affect that.
Travis Hunter Jr. starred on both offense and defense at Colorado last season and looks to star both ways with the Jaguars. He was raised in Boynton Beach before moving to Georgia for high school.
Bradford Cohen, Hunter Sr.’s attorney, said after his May 20 hearing that his client had not committed a single violation since being placed on community control in 2024.
“It is so difficult to be successful on community control,” Cohen said in May. “You have an electric monitor on your ankle and they know if you make a detour for gas, if you make a detour to CVS and that’s not on your schedule, that is a violation.”
Contributing: Tom D’Angelo and Eric Wallace, Palm Beach Post
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Father of Travis Hunter arrested on probation violation
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
