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Savannah native and Citadel football player, Javonte Middleton was arrested August 28 by The Citadel's Department of Public Safety and charged with third-degree domestic violence.
Reports of the arrest have been confirmed by The Post and Courier, and WSAV.
Middleton is a senior and captain on the Bulldogs’ football team at The Citadel. He was also a standout athlete at Jenkins High School in Savannah. During his tenure he led the Warriors to a state quarterfinals appearance.
According to the Charleston County Clerk of Court records, Middleton's bond was set at the amount of $5,237 with conditions of no contact with the victim or members of the victim's family. Third-degree domestic violence is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail in South Carolina.
The South Carolina Code of Laws states that a person can be convicted of third-degree domestic violence if they meet the “basic” elements of domestic violence: That you cause injury to a “household member,” or that you threaten to cause injury to a “household member” (and have the ability to follow through with the threat, creating fear of imminent danger).
A statement released August 29 from The Citadel confirmed the arrest:
“The Citadel Department of Public Safety executed an arrest warrant for domestic violence, third degree, against Cadet Javonte Middleton on Saturday, August 28 on campus. Cadet Middleton is a senior from Savannah, Georgia and is a member of the football team,” said the statement from the school’s Office of Communication and Marketing.
Middleton has been temporarily suspended by The Citadel while the case moves through the legal system, the school said.
Middleton, a 6-0, 180-pound defensive back, was named the military team captain for the Bulldogs last spring by coach Brent Thompson. As such, he became the first Citadel player to wear jersey number zero, which Thompson designated for the military captain, who acts as a liaison between the football team and the military school’s Corps of Cadets.
“Their responsibility is to be the liaison and touchpoint for the team and the regimental commander, if there are discipline issues or trends going on,” former commandant Geno Paluso told the Board of Visitors last spring. “If the team captains and regimental commander have ideas to get the Corps of Cadets involved in the sporting events, they coordinate at that level. It doesn’t come from the commandant’s office.”