Safid Deen

Democrat staff writer

Florida State running back Mario Pender was arrested on two charges, including a third-degree felony, on Saturday and dismissed from the football team.

Pender, 23, was arrested by the Tallahassee Police Department for domestic battery by strangulation and resisting an officer without violence.



"Mario Pender has been permanently dismissed from the football team following his arrest earlier in the day," the school said in a statement. "The Athletics Department will have no further comment at this time."His bond was set at $500.

Pender accused of choking woman, dragging her by hair

Pender’s playing status with the Seminoles has been in limbo since last September after suffering a collapsed lung during a practice. He appeared in the first three games of 2015 before his season was over. He was also held out of spring practice in April.



He was sidelined for his freshman season with a groin injury, was ruled academically ineligible in 2013, and was limited to nine games in 2014 because of a concussion and an ankle injury.Pender has had a tumultuous career with the Seminoles since enrolling in January 2012.

In 2011, as a high school senior, Pender was arrested by Cape Coral police after an altercation with his girlfriend. The police report said that during a dispute inside the car he hit her with a right backhand before asking her to get out and give him the keys. The charges were later dropped by the state attorney’s office due to lack of evidence.

FSU RB Mario Pender begins rehab from collapsed lung

Pender’s latest arrest is the first of any kind since two members of the FSU football team were arrested on consecutive days for battery incidents in June 2015.

Quarterback De’Andre Johnson, who was later kicked off the team, entered a plea deal last December after surveillance video caught him punching a woman in the face at a Tallahassee bar.

Running back Dalvin Cook was acquitted in court after being accused of hitting a woman at a separate bar the day after.

Pender was expected to return from injury and add depth to FSU's running backs before his college career came to an end.

Democrat senior writer Corey Clark and FSView managing editor Perry Kostadakis contributed to this report.

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