ATHENS — Georgia defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter was arrested early Sunday morning after attempting to enter the Silver Dollar Bar in a “very inebriated” state with a fake ID, according to a police report.
Ledbetter, 18, played in seven games last year as a freshman and was in line for a bigger role this season. According to Georgia’s most recent student-athlete drug and alcohol handbook, a non-DUI alcohol-related arrest results in an “automatic” suspension of 10 percent of the season, which in football’s case is a one-game suspension.
Ledbetter was booked on two misdemeanor alcohol-related charges, possessing or making a false ID and underage possession/furnishing alcohol. The report was released by the Athens-Clarke County police department on Monday morning.
The arresting officer wrote in his report that Ledbetter was “very inebriated” as he tried to go into the bar. The doorman told Ledbetter he could not go in.
At that point the officer approached and overheard Ledbetter say he had another ID. Then Ledbetter, “fumbled through his wallet attempting to retrieve another ID.” The officer said he could see a Georgia driver’s license “protruding from his wallet,” which the officer then “retrieved” and noticed a 1997 birthday.
“Due to Ledbetter’s inebriated state and stature I asked him to step away from the entrance and I took possession of his wallet finding a fraudulent photo copy Georgia Driver’s License with Ledbetter’s information but with a date of birth of (redacted) 1992,” the report states. “I requested another unit to my location due to Ledbetter’s stature and inebriation.”
Ledbetter was placed under arrest and turned over to a transport unit. At that point, the report finishes with the note: “A gentleman by the last name of Gant approached and informed me he was Coach Gant and inquired about Ledbetter.”
That was almost certainly Bryant Gantt, a program coordinator for the football team since 2011, who also worked for 19 years at a law firm. Gantt lettered on Georgia’s football team in 1989 and 1990.
