Vanderbilt football player Sam Dobbs was charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment when he landed a drone in a large crowd in downtown Nashville on Fourth of July night, according to Metro police.

Police said Dobbs flew his drone at 9:55 p.m. Tuesday over a large crowd in the First Avenue and Gay Street area during Nashville’s Let Freedom Sing Celebration, an event that drew an estimated 240,000 people. He was among 17 individuals charged with various crimes during the celebration.

Dobbs, a junior tight end from Douglasville, Ga., had six receptions for 73 yards and one touchdown last season. He will be punished internally by coach Derek Mason, according to Vanderbilt spokesman Kyle Parkinson.

It’s not the first time Dobbs has made headlines with a drone. In April, Dobbs created a parody sorority recruitment video entitled “VF Sorority,” or Vanderbilt Football Sorority, featuring Commodores players and aerial clips shot from a camera on a drone.

The parody video, which has been viewed more than 500,000 times on Dobbs’ YouTube channel, was featured on countless web sites as one of the funniest sports clips of the year.

Dobbs’ charge is the second unusual incident involving Vanderbilt players in the past 10 days.

RELATED: Vanderbilt player's stolen cell phone led to shooting outside Target

On June 27, Vanderbilt wide receiver Donaven Tennyson attempted to recover his stolen iPhone with two teammates and a pellet gun, according to Metro police. Instead, Tennyson’s teammates, defensive backs Tae Daley and Frank Coppet, were shot by the thieves, who fired an actual handgun and shotgun and then stole Daley’s car, police said.

None of the players' wounds was life-threatening. All three were suspended indefinitely.

Jason Gonzales contributed to this report. Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @AdamSparks.