Last Chance U featured Bobby Bruce in Season 3 as the Independence linebacker overcame a lot to keep his football dreams alive. According to the Florida Today, Bruce was arrested in June due to his suspected involvement in an armed robbery in Palm Bay, Florida. Florida Today detailed the alleged incident.
Police say the assailants in the case used Snapchat — a mobile app that allows users to send messages and photos that expire after they have been viewed — to lure the victim into a trap outside his home.
Dwight Bobby Bruce, 20, of the 1000 block of Kennedy Court, Titusville, is charged with armed robbery. He joins his alleged partner in the crime, Andreal Curry, 19, who was arrested Tuesday.
Bruce and Curry were each being held Saturday at the Brevard County Jail on $100,000 bond.
There are some small spoilers ahead, so you may not want to proceed if you have not finished Last Chance U Season 3. At the end of season, the series noted Bruce had been arrested, and was not expected back at Independence. However, as the above YouTube video reported, all signs point to Bruce playing for Independence in 2018.
Bobby Bruce Is Headed Back to Independence for 2018
I want to thank my former player @bobbybruce20 for coming to workouts today! It is great to see him the day before he goes back to Independence CC to finish up🏈💯🐍#BALLER #LastChanceU #BDC
Space Coast’s Matt Diesel, a high school coach near where Bruce grew up, tweeted a photo of Bruce stopping by in July then noted he was headed back to Independence.
“I want to thank my former player @bobbybruce20 for coming to workouts today! It is great to see him the day before he goes back to Independence CC to finish up???#BALLER #LastChanceU #BDC,” Diesel tweeted.
There are little updates on Bruce’s legal challenges, but it looks to be resolved enough for the linebacker to enroll back at Independence. Some have speculated the charges have been dismissed. Bruce has “OLB/FS Independence CC” still listed in his Twitter bio. Bruce was one of the main players Season 3 followed.
The docu-series showed his difficult upbringing in Titusville, Florida including his mother’s regret for not being in Bruce’s life as much as she wanted early on. One of the things the show detailed was the bond Bruce had with Independence professor Latonya Pinkard. At one point in the show, Pinkard talked Bruce out of quitting school by giving it “two weeks” before making a decision. Pinkard spoke with Sports Illustrated about the special dynamics of their relationship.
I would say he was a bit of an exception to the rule a little bit, but everyone goes through stuff, and because he reached out to me and because I knew him from previous classes, we migrated more toward each other. Because he did open up to me, he allowed me to come in to assist, to help, to talk, to mentor, just to be that person.
Actually, the first day of class, I was surprised to see him come through because I hadn’t checked my roster to see who had registered late or what have you, so when he walked in, I was shocked. ‘Oh, Mr. Bruce, you’re here!” During the season, I had a few students, they would come in to class and have a seat, and I don’t mind that because they may learn something else that day.
It looks like we may get a happy ending as Bruce’s former high school coach posted a photo from the airport, noting Bruce was heading back to Independence.
@LaTonyaCLC We are at the airport now with Bobby he is on his way back to Indy now.
Hopefully, Bruce can have another big season on the field, and get a scholarship offer once his time at Independence has concluded.
