Winston Case Was Re-Opened Due to New Evidence

The media and fans alike have wondered why and how the alleged Jameis Winston case came to light once again.

Well, according to reports in the Tallahassee Democrat, there was new evidence brought to light.

According to the report, the woman in the middle of this brought up the charges but decided not to pursue legal action.

Now, due to new evidence, the case was re-opened after almost a year of it sitting in someone's inbox. This came after a Tampa Bay Times reporter's request about it, which is often impetus enough to cause a case to be opened. That's because the local heat don't want to look like the doof patrol if a reporter has dug up a new detail.

Here is what the initial complaint said:

The Tallahassee Police Department followed up on the case referred to it by Florida State University police "against FSU football player Jameis Winston" by a woman who indicated she was intoxicated at a local bar and was taken advantage of while impaired. TPD initiated an investigation and began to interview witnesses and compile details on the case, but stopped getting responses from the woman and could no longer contact her.

"Shortly thereafter, a representative of the young woman's family who is an attorney contacted TPD and said the young woman had changed her mind and did not wish to prosecute."

However, in Florida and every other state, once a complaint has been filed and accepted by the authorities, the matter of whether or not to pursue it is out of the alleged victim's hands. At that point, it's the authorities who make the decision.

So now, with the matter reopened, the police aren't saying what new piece of evidence they have. And with state prosecutor Willie Meggs duly chastened after making a fool of himself with leading comments about making "interesting progress" in the investigation, don't expect the media or public to learn about it anytime soon.

That is, if there actually is new evidence and not just a reactive rumor to make it look like real police work is being done.