{"id":758922,"date":"2026-06-25T07:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T07:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/758922\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T07:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T07:54:19","slug":"former-nfl-player-says-contractors-took-memorabilia-from-hurricane-damaged-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/758922\/","title":{"rendered":"Former NFL player says contractors took memorabilia from hurricane-damaged home"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 DeShawn Williams spent 10 seasons in the NFL, playing for three teams. <\/p>\n

The memorabilia he collected along the way, including helmets and jerseys he hoped to pass down to his son are now at the center of a lawsuit filed earlier this month in Pinellas County Circuit Court.\u00a0
\u00a0
WATCH: Former NFL player says contractors took memorabilia from his hurricane-damaged home<\/p>\n

Former NFL player says contractors took memorabilia from hurricane-damaged home<\/p>\n

Williams and his wife, Ashlee, say contractors hired by their mortgage company entered their Shore Acres home without permission after Hurricane Helene and removed\u00a0personal property, including game-used NFL memorabilia that later appeared for sale on Facebook Marketplace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"DeShawn<\/p>\n

Zoom<\/p>\n

Hurricane Helene damage forced the couple out of their home\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hurricane Helene left the Williamses’ Shore Acres home with significant flood damage.
\u00a0
“We\u00a0took on\u00a0four feet\u00a0of\u00a0water\u00a0throughout the whole house,” Ashlee said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

WFTS<\/p>\n

The couple moved out while repairs were underway, storing what they could in their locked garage.\u00a0
\u00a0
DeShawn recently began\u00a0coaching for\u00a0the Oklahoma Sooners, and the couple spoke about the situation via Zoom from Oklahoma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contractors entered the home without permission\u00a0<\/p>\n

DeShawn and Ashlee say they first learned someone had been inside their home when they received an unexpected message.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Ashlee Williams<\/p>\n

“He got a message two months ago saying we could have your dog’s ashes. We can send them to you. We were cleaning out your house,” Ashlee said.\u00a0
\u00a0
The ashes were the remains of\u00a0the family\u2019s\u00a0dog Gucci, who died at age 16.\u00a0
\u00a0
The message came from Devin Hooper, an employee of Colvin Inspections, which is owned by her then-boyfriend David Colvin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Facebook<\/p>\n

DeShawn Williams<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, the\u00a0couple’s mortgage company hired Solid Foundation Properties LLC, which subcontracted Colvin Inspections to inspect and “preserve” the property.\u00a0
\u00a0
Attorney Matt Weidner, who represents the Williams family, said the arrangement does not give contractors the right to enter a home without the owner’s knowledge.<\/p>\n

\"Attorney<\/p>\n

WFTS<\/p>\n

\u00a0
“They call it securing the property or winterizing the property.\u00a0But in fact, they’re just entering into a property and violating a homeowner’s security,” Weidner said.\u00a0
\u00a0
Weidner also noted that they were current on their mortgage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

NFL memorabilia appeared for sale online\u00a0<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges Hooper listed DeShawn’s Broncos helmet for sale for $800 and his Bengals jersey for $200 on Facebook Marketplace.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
A friend in Tampa alerted the couple after spotting the jersey listed online.\u00a0
\u00a0
“It’s\u00a0actually property owned by the NFL, but lo and\u00a0behold,\u00a0he finds it being sold online,” Weidner said.\u00a0
\u00a0
For DeShawn, the items\u00a0represent\u00a0more than their dollar value.\u00a0
\u00a0
“A lot because, you know, it’s my hard work. Something that I can pass down to my son,” DeShawn said.\u00a0
\u00a0
When DeShawn confronted Hooper in a direct message, she responded: “I’m sorry I can’t speak on behalf of this as your wife immediately out of the gate started\u00a0threatening with legal.”\u00a0
\u00a0
According to the lawsuit, the\u00a0mortgage company “disavowed all responsibility for the actions” and advised the couple to “simply file a police report.”\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contractors allegedly returned to the property after locks were changed\u00a0<\/p>\n

DeShawn and Ashlee say\u00a0neighbors reported that people continued breaking into their home even after their locks were changed.\u00a0
\u00a0
Weidner called the police and recorded\u00a0video\u00a0of David Colvin on the\u00a0Williamses’\u00a0property after neighbors alerted the family that Colvin had returned with a truck and trailer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Video<\/p>\n

Matthew Weidner<\/p>\n

“They can literally catch them in the act, and oftentimes the police will just leave and won’t provide any assistance to the homeowner,” Weidner said.\u00a0
\u00a0
“They’ll say this is between you and your bank,” Weidner said.\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contractors were difficult to locate\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Colvin did not return calls or emails seeking comment.\u00a0
\u00a0
The address listed on the Colvin Inspections website led to a rented mailbox inside a UPS Store.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
A house in Ruskin, listed in state records as the location of Colvin Inspections, was found empty and undergoing renovations.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
Neighbors said both Colvin and Hooper moved out.\u00a0
\u00a0
We\u00a0reached Hooper on Facebook Messenger and asked for her side of the story.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
She said she would consult her legal team, but days later, when we followed up, she said, “No, I’m good.”\u00a0
\u00a0
St. Petersburg Police say the case is under\u00a0investigation\u00a0and nobody has been charged.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Williamses want their property returned\u00a0<\/p>\n

Weidner said the law is clear.\u00a0
\u00a0
“You certainly don’t have any right to take their personal property, and you darn sure don’t have any right to be selling their property online,” Weidner said.\u00a0
\u00a0
The Williamses hope their court fight will help bring their property home. Ashlee has a message for whoever has it.\u00a0
\u00a0
“I would want to tell them to do the right thing because I don’t think they have so far,” Ashlee said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Share Your Story with Adam

Adam Walser has spent more than a decade fighting for what\u2019s right in Tampa Bay as part of the I-Team. He\u2019s helped expose flaws in Florida\u2019s eldercare system and held leaders accountable for questionable HOA practices. Reach out to Adam with any issue you think he needs to investigate.<\/p>\n

Send your story or tip to Adam Walser<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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A West Palm Beach man battling an aggressive brain tumor was denied insurance coverage for the surgery he needed to remove it, only to see his insurer reverse course in a dramatic turn that unfolded inside his hospital room while our investigative team was there interviewing him about the denial.<\/p>\n

FL brain tumor patient denied insurance coverage for surgery gets full reversal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 DeShawn Williams spent 10 seasons in the NFL, playing for three teams. The memorabilia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758923,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,362731,362732,362733,362734,593,362729,362730,85],"class_list":["post-758922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-contactor","tag-hurricane-damage-theft","tag-lawsuit-contactractor","tag-meorabilia","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-lawsuit","tag-nfl-player-theft","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}