Note: The third and fourth paragraphs have been updated after follow-up reporting.
ATHENS – Georgia cornerback Juwuan Briscoe did not have a valid driver’s license when he was pulled over and subsequently arrested on Saturday night, according to a UGA police report.
Briscoe was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt while driving on Broad Street. He provided the officer with a Georgia ID, rather than a driver’s license, and told the officer he had failed a test to get a driver’s license, according to the report, which was provided on Monday.
Briscoe is a native of Maryland who has been with the Georgia football team since last summer. A UGA spokesman said Briscoe “didn’t indicate to the officer whether or not he had a Maryland license. If he had told the officer he had a Maryland license, a computer search would have been done and found it.”
Georgia state law requires new residents to obtain a Georgia driver’s license within 30 days. However Briscoe, as a student, is not considered a resident and not required to get the Georgia driver’s license, according to the UGA spokesman.
The arresting officer added in his report: “I asked Briscoe why he had gone to the trouble to go to the Department of Driver’s Services and obtain an ID only card instead of getting a valid driver’s license. Briscoe advised that he had tried to get his license but had failed the test. He stated that due to his hectic schedule he had not had time to return (and pass the test).”
Briscoe was subsequently booked into Athens-Clarke County Jail on charges of driving without a license and without a seat belt. Both are misdemeanors.
Bryant Gantt, a program coordinator for the football team, arrived at the scene and drove Briscoe’s car home, according to the report.