A little over a month after getting busted with a pair of felony charges stemming from an incident where he resisted arrest, Florida State running back James Wilder Jr. is back with the team and is expected to practice today, Wilder’s attorney said.
Wilder pleaded no contest to a reduced misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence Wednesday morning and has been sentenced to six months probation, as well as nine days of work camp. Additionally, Wilder must take anger management courses, write a letter of apology to the officer involved and pay $225 in fees/court costs.
But all in all, it looks like Wilder’s legal issue is behind him.
“He is excited, he is excited to get back on the field,” Wilder’s attorney Tim Jansen said Wednesday, adding it was “his understanding” that Wilder would be back practicing with the team today. And, indeed, that was the case, as coach Jimbo Fisher confirmed the reinstatement after Wednesday’s drills.
According to the police report, officers originally came to Wilder’s apartment on Feb. 21 in search of the running back’s girlfriend, Bianca Camarda, who had failed to appear in court. It was when officers began the process of arresting Camarda that Wilder allegedly became involved in the process. Accounts initially varied on what actually happened, but Wilder allegedly accidentally bumped into one of the arresting officers while trying to show him a message on a cell phone regarding Camarda.
“We’ve said from the very beginning that it was a miscommunication,” Jansen said. “James, his only role was to try and let the officer know that the lawyer had messed up his girlfriend’s case. While in the meantime trying to portray that information and show a text to the officer and the officer felt threatened. He apologized, he knew from the very beginning that he probably should not have interfered, but it was an emotional thing.”