JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A former Jaguars player pleaded no contest Tuesday to misdemeanor criminal mischief after he was accused of kicking a car door and causing damage in August.
Police said Reggie Hayward denied kicking the car door but was caught on video Aug. 26 outside St. Vincent's Southside on Belfort Road.
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Hayward told police a man admitted to the hospital emergency room for chest pains asked Hayward to take the man's child and watch him until he was released. The relationship between Hayward, the man and the child was not indicated on the arrest warrant.
According to surveillance video, Hayward began to leave with the child in his car when the child's grandmother pulled up behind Hayward and the two got into an argument.
The woman told police the child's mother, who lives in Miami, asked her to come take the child from Hayward after the child's father was admitted to the ER.
The woman said Hayward yelled at her after she pulled up behind his car and told her to move because he was leaving. When she did not move, she said, he kicked her driver's side door, causing damage to the door and window. Hayward denied he'd kicked the vehicle or threatened the woman.
The video backed up the woman's claim and showed Hayward kicking the car door, investigators said. The damage was estimated at over $300.
Hayward, who was a defensive end for the Jaguars from 2005 to 2009, was charged with criminal mischief and was arrested in Clay County on the warrant two weeks later.
Hayward will be sentenced in July. He will have to make restitution and enroll in anger management class.
The incident involving Hayward at St. Vincent's happened to be reported to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office only half an hour before a mass shooting at The Jacksonville Landing that left three people dead, including the shooter.