UCF defensive lineman Raymond Cutts was arrested in Orlando Monday and charged with carrying a concealed firearm and third degree grand theft of a firearm.
Two Orlando police officers pulled over a car Cutts was a passenger in Monday because the driver wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.
Driver Christian Casas told an officer he only had a learner’s permit and the group had just smoked marijuana in the vehicle. Officers asked the driver and two passengers to get out of the car so it could be searched. Cutts was the only person in the backseat, where officers found an empty bag with marijuana residue and a Glock G27 semiautomatic handgun with a loaded magazine facing toward the front of the vehicle and concealed under the seat.
Casas said he didn’t know about the gun and front seat passenger Jyquarious Johnson said it belonged to Cutts, but he declined to provide a sworn written statement about it because they are cousins and he didn’t want to see Cutts arrested.
Cutts denied he knew anything about the gun, but the officer stated Cutts was a suspect in an investigation into the theft of a car and the same gun five days earlier in an area Cutts frequently visited.
When asked about the incident, UCF released a statement that read, “UCF Athletics officials are aware of the matter involving Raymond Cutts and have no further comment as we learn additional details about the situation.”
Cutts, a three-star defensive end prospect out of Orlando’s Jones High, was part of UCF’s 2019 recruiting class, spurning scholarship offers from Clemson, Louisville, Auburn, Baylor and Virginia Tech. He was the No. 10 player in the Orlando Sentinel’s 2019 Central Florida Super60.
“It’s not strange because I already knew what I was getting myself into,” he said. “It’s just that … I felt like I was going to come in and make an impact early. Things work in different ways. I know it’s just a chance for me to get bigger and better than what I am now, so I’m gonna take advantage of it.”
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