Ex-Miami Hurricanes receiver Mark Pope arrested for armed robbery in Miami-Dade

Former University of Miami football star Mark Pope, 27, was arrested for armed robbery after allegedly pistol-whipping a woman and stealing her phone.

Former Hurricanes wide receiver charged with pistol-whipping woman in Miami park

Former University of Miami wide receiver Mark Pope, 27, was arrested on armed robbery and aggravated battery charges after he allegedly struck a woman in the face with a pistol and forcibly took her phone, nbcmiami.com reports.

Pope was booked into Miami-Dade's Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Thursday following the incident at a park on Southwest 218th Street.

According to an arrest report, Pope and the victim knew each other through their neighbourhood and had arranged to meet at the park. A dispute broke out inside the victim's vehicle, at which point Pope allegedly pulled out a firearm, struck her in the face with it and grabbed her phone from her hand. The woman fled the vehicle and contacted police from a nearby gas station. Pope was located shortly afterwards and taken into custody.

At a bond court hearing on Friday — attended by his parents — defence attorney Robert Pelier argued for a reasonable bond, citing his client's employment at a security company and an absence of prior arrests. "He's a graduate of the University of Miami, was a standout on the University of Miami football team, was a standout on the football team at University of Massachusetts — this has to be some misunderstanding with some lady friend," Pelier told the judge. The court placed Pope on house arrest with a GPS monitor and ordered him to stay away from the alleged victim.

Pope grew up in Miami and attended Miami Southridge High School before joining the Hurricanes programme in 2018. He appeared in 34 games for the team before transferring first to Jackson State and subsequently to the University of Massachusetts. In 2024 he signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League but was released in 2025.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)