A little more than a week after felony theft charges against Tennessee offensive lineman Coleman Thomas were dismissed, former Vols defensive lineman Michael Sawyers has been charged with the same crime.
Thomas was originally accused of stealing an XBox and three video games in a March 25 incident, but a three week investigation by the Knox County District Attorney’s office found no evidence against him, so it dropped the charges.
The DA’s evidence found evidence against Sawyers, and it was of the self-incriminating variety. According to the Associated Press, “police said Sawyers sent a text message to the original owner of the games in which he apologized for pawning the items and offered to buy him a new Xbox.”
Sawyers was booked Wednesday and released on $1,000 bond.
A rising sophomore, Sawyers was dismissed from the team on Feb. 4 for what head coach Butch Jones described as “violations of athletic and team policies.” The Antioch, Tenn., native saw action in four games as a freshman, collecting two tackles.
(Photo credit: Tennessee athletics)