Volume XXVII: Really Stupid Criminals

I specialized in stupid criminals as a prosecutor. These are as stupid as it gets. The story is best told in its video form. Enjoy.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- First Coast News obtained the 34-minute police recording made the morning two University of Florida basketball players and a team manager got arrested.

Players Erik Murphy and Cody Larson and manager Joshua Adel apparently don't know they're being recorded, since they admit to breaking into cars and underage drinking. Police put the recorder in the backseat of the police car.

They were arrested early Sunday morning outside Scarlett O'Hara's bar in St. Augustine.

In the recording, player Murphy makes up several possible stories to pass on to police. Team manager Josh Adel rejects all of them, saying he told the players to stop breaking into cars.

But the recording also brings up issues like implied preferential treatment by Gainesville police agencies and different levels of punishment on the UF basketball team.

"Bro, do you know how f*** I am because of y'all dumb m***** f*******," Adel tells Murphy in the police car. "I'm fired. Like, you'll have another shot. I'm done. I have no second shot, bro."

"I don't have a second shot either," Murphy replies.

"And I told y'all to stop doing that," Adel says, referring to car breakins. "You did that."

"I know," Murphy says.

Murphy and Larson are charged with felony burglary while Adel faces a charge of principal to burglary. Police say Adel acted as a lookout.

"I'm getting you out of it," Murphy tells Adel.

"F*** that man," Adel says. "It doesn't matter. My job was supposed to, I'm supposed to be looking after y'all. And y'all are f****** going into f****** cars that I said not to."

While Adel and Murphy talked in the police car, police were still trying to track down Larson. Larson called Adel six times while they were in the back of the police car.

The two put Larson on speaker phone, so his voice is recorded by police too.

"They don't have anything on us. We're gonna get off," Murphy tells Larson.

"We're not getting off," Adel whispers to Murphy.

"Just tell him we are so he can come," Murphy whispers back to Adel. A second later, Murphy tells Larson on the phone, "Yo, we don't have anything on us. We're getting off bro."

Larson is still skeptical of his friends.

"So how are you passing the phone from you to Murph?" he asks.

"Cause the cops don't know I have the phone," Adel replies.

UF basketball coach Billy Donovan has suspended all three from all basketball-related activities until the police investigation is complete.

But the recording reveals that Murphy was thinking of ways to get out of the situation.

"You know what we could say. Listen, listen, listen. When we went back in, the dude was being a d***h*** to us and was like, 'You gotta leave.' I was looking for my wallet," Murphy tells Adel.

"Dude, come on man. ... That is a dumb G** d*** idea," Adel says.

Later, another story pitch comes from Murphy.

"We can get them in trouble too for letting us in when we weren't 21," Murphy says.

"Dude, don't even say that s***," Adel responds.

"No, f*** that. I'm pulling everything out," Murphy says.

"No you're not because that makes us look like a*******. That we're, that you two are wasted and f****** breaking in cars. That looks f****** dumb," Adel says.

"Whatever bro. I'm doing it," Murphy says.

Another clip implies they might get special treatment if they were closer to home at the University of Florida.

"Have you ever gotten arrested before?" Murphy asks Adel, who says no. "Then we could get off."

"There's no getting off. We're not in f****** Gainesville. They [St. Augustine police] don't give a f***," Adel says. "Do you understand I'll be fired and I have no chance of ever pursuing any type of career in basketball."

We asked UF spokesman Fred Demarest about the underage drinking and implication of preferential treatment in Gainesville. He replied via e-mail, "I cannot comment any further than what we've already said.

As for Adel's concerns that he would be treated differently than the players, Demarest wrote, "As for Josh, he is still part of our program right now. He is suspended from basketball related activities as well. We will not comment beyond that until more information is available."