Joel Miller's Father Arrested on Felony Grand Theft Charge

[USFishin]

August 22, 2011

Father of USF football player at center of incident that led to Jim Leavitt firing arrested on felony grand theft charge

By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer

TAMPA - Paul Miller, the father of the USF football player at the center of the incident that led to coach Jim Leavitt's firing last year, was arrested last week on a felony charge of grand theft, accused of taking a woman's wallet from a cart in a New Tampa supermarket.

Miller, 59, a retired Tampa police officer, was arrested late Thursday night by Tampa police and later released on $2,000 bond. According to the arrest report, video cameras at the Publix on Cross Creek Boulevard showed him Wednesday picking up a Coach brand wallet left in a shopping cart and putting it in his pants pocket. The report said Miller admitted to putting the wallet in his pocket and not turning it in to store employees, but said he left the wallet in the cart before he left the store. The wallet was not recovered, and the arrest report says camera footage does not show a wallet in his cart at checkout.

Miller's son, Joel, was allegedly grabbed by the throat and slapped twice by Leavitt during halftime of a 2009 USF football game, and Paul Miller was quoted in the initial Fanhouse.com story that led to USF's investigation and the coach's subsequent dismissal. Leavitt filed a wrongful termination suit and USF eventually paid him $2.75 million in a January settlement. Joel Miller is a senior receiver on this year's Bulls team and caught a key pass in overtime that set up the winning score in USF's win at Miami in November.

The alleged victim, 24-year-old Alaina Winchell of Tampa, told police the wallet was valued at $85 and had $280 in cash inside, pushing the value of the theft above the $300 limit for a misdemeanor, making it a felony charge. Miller was identified after a Publix employee recognized him on security camera footage as a regular customer and remembered his vanity license plate, "BEEGOOD," according to the arrest report.

The report states that Miller initially "denied any knowledge of the offense" and "changed his story numerous times" and "at one point claimed he saw a small child (that) may have taken the wallet." Reached by phone Monday, Paul Miller said the incident was a "misunderstanding" and expressed disappointment that he was charged by the same law enforcement unit that he worked for until retiring in 2005.

"I don't know why they did what they did. There should have been a little professional courtesy," Miller said by phone. "You know, they're treating me like I was ... Gosh, come on now. I was a cop for 25 years. I was in the military. What are you doing to me here? Don't get me wrong. I don't want preferential treatment from cops. ... They did their job and did their job well. I'm not saying anything about the officers."

The police report quotes Miller as saying he would "pay the victim back for any losses," but Monday he said he hadn't done that. "How much could it be, like 15 bucks?" he said. "I never even looked at it, so I don't know." According to the arrest report, Miller has retained high-profile Tampa attorney Barry Cohen, who had also represented his son during the Leavitt case, though no legal action was taken by the Miller family.

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[Grateful Dad]

After having done investigations for over eight years, I have learned that no one knows what exactly happened if their only source of information is the media.  I will not pass judgment on him until I absolutely know what happened.  I never will know and neither will anyone else who was not involved.  Sad that it happened, no matter what happened.

[ncentonze]

A retired Cop? BEEGOOD vanity plate? LOL

So he could be a liar and he could have passed his lying genes down to his son...this changes everything now.

[cmhatter]

A retired Cop? BEEGOOD vanity plate? LOL

So he could be a liar and he could have passed his lying genes down to his son...this changes everything now.

Not sure if serious

[flsportsfan83]

Wow, the fact that this made the news is a joke. What in the hell does it have to do with USF. I would be willing to bet that Joel's father is not the only USF football dad that has been charged with a crime.

[ncentonze]

A retired Cop? BEEGOOD vanity plate? LOL

So he could be a liar and he could have passed his lying genes down to his son...this changes everything now.

Not sure if serious

No, not serious...just bad humor

[Matt]

yeah i really dont see the point in covering this story. 

joel has a hard enough time dealing with all that leavitt stuff and now this is covered with the head line that is has?

doesnt make sense.

we've got 11+ days until the first game.  i could careless what Joel's dad is doing. 

besides...picking up a lost wallet isn't exactly armed robbery.  i dont defend the guys actions cause obviously he had foul intentions for him to try and cover up his tracks like he did.

he could of easily just been taking the wallet to personally deliver to the address on the ID.  this has happened to me before.  and when it did- the cash was gone but i could careless.  (of course it was only like 25 bucks at the time not the $250 that this lady says was in there)

finders fee.  saved me from having to cancel all my cards go thru the pain in the ass process of getting a new drivers license.

anyways-----i dont know why a 25 year vet of the police force would do something so stupid and lie about it but to cover it like it is some how affiliated with USF football is pointless.

[cmhatter]

Wow, the fact that this made the news is a joke. What in the hell does it have to do with USF. I would be willing to bet that Joel's father is not the only USF football dad that has been charged with a crime.

hes not we could take 10 minutes out our day to list them but there is no point in doing that.

[FutureUSFstudent]

Are we ever going to let the CJL scandal die?

[Bruce Blingstein]

Wow, the fact that this made the news is a joke. What in the hell does it have to do with USF. I would be willing to bet that Joel's father is not the only USF football dad that has been charged with a crime.

maybe im different but its one of the more interesting pre season articles i have read so far.  Even if it doesnt have anything to do with present usf football. 

you dont just do this kind of stuff on a whim.  Dude is probably a klepto and since he has a condition he tells irrational lies about it.

i hate thieves.