Jury indicts Smith, Gayles

Arizona Summer Wildcat Mikal Smith, left, and Leland Gayles

UA starting safety Mikal Smith, 20, and reserve cornerback Leland Gayles, 20, each face one felony count of fraud.

Gayles missed his arraignment Friday and a reset date was scheduled for Aug. 19. Smith's attorney requested a reset date for his arraignment because Smith is in Florida. Smith's arraignment and pretrial proceedings will be Sept. 11.

Both players were suspended from the team indefinitely.

Smith and Gayles were arrested June 11 after university police discovered 67 illegally obtained books in the trunk of Gayles' car, which was outside the Arizona Bookstore, 815 N. Park Ave.

The players are accused of using stolen Athletics Department book vouchers to purchase textbooks at university-area stores, and allegedly selling them back for 50 percent of their value - the going rate without a receipt.

Police also suspect some of the books may have been stolen from book bins in McKale Center.

During the investigation, university police discovered a list of 33 non-scholarship athletes who allegedly received $6,850 in department textbooks. When police contacted eight of those athletes, none of them had been given the books. Police investigated the list because non-scholarship athletes are ineligible for books.

The investigation started in May after bookstore employees became suspicous after a costumer sold the same book back to the store twice in two days.

University police had linked as many as six names to the scheme, but bookstore employees only described two customers. This led authorities to suspect that the same persons may have repeatedly sold books back to the stores using false identification.

The Athletics Department issues textbooks to all full-scholarship athletes at the beginning of each semester. Department book vouchers are used to purchase a book if a student adds a class after the start of school.

All books are property of the Athletics Department and must be returned at the end of each semester.

UA attorney Mike Proctor said in June he did not believe the alleged book scam would warrant any penalizing action from the NCAA.