VIRGINIA BEACH
Dexter Reid, a three-sport standout at Granby High who starred at the University of North Carolina and won Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts, avoided jail time Wednesday on a drug charge.
Circuit Judge Thomas Padrick Jr. sentenced Reid to two years in prison for possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute but suspended the time contingent on Reid's staying out of trouble for the next two years.
He also suspended Reid's driver's license for six months and ordered him to attend drug treatment and counseling.
In January, Reid pleaded guilty to the felony stemming from a traffic stop last year in which police found marijuana, a handgun, a loaded .45-caliber magazine and boxes of ammunition. Reid, 27, was acquitted of the concealed weapon charge.
His attorney, James Broccoletti, argued Wednesday that Reid possessed the drugs as an accommodation and did not intend to profit from it. Had the judge agreed, it could have reduced the conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor.
"I have no reason to be pushing drugs, putting my life at risk," Reid told the judge.
The problems for Reid, who earned Super Bowl rings as a safety and special teams player, began after he won his last championship with the Colts.
He was later released from the team but was given a bonus check for between $70,000 and $85,000 for his playoff contributions and the league's ultimate prize.
Reid admitted purchasing $200 worth of marijuana from a dealer in Norfolk when was stopped by police on March 25, 2007. The drugs were packaged in 87 plastic containers that resembled those found in gum ball machines.
Later that night, Reid was on his way to a club when he was stopped on General Booth Boulevard for driving erratically. He told an officer that he was text-messaging. Police spotted the marijuana in the back of the SUV.
"All that dope in the back yours?" the officer asked, according to court records.
"It's mine," Reid reportedly told the officer. "I smoke all day, everyday, seven days a week."
On Wednesday, Reid told the judge he has remained clean since his arrest.
He said he has started a strength and conditioning program in North Carolina in hopes of getting back to the NFL.
Duane Bourne, (757) 222-5150, duane.bourne@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
PROHIBITION
PROHIBITION never works it just CAUSES CRIME & VIOLENCE. Illegal drugs are way easier for kids to get than legal ones. The USA spends $69 billion a year on the drug war, builds 900 new prison beds and hires 150 more correction officers every two weeks, arrests someone on a drug charge every 17 seconds, jails more people than any nation and has killed over 100,000 citizens because of the drug war. In 1914 when ALL DRUGS WERE LEGAL 1.3% of our population was addicted to drugs, today 1.3% of our population is STILL ADDICTED TO DRUGS. The only way to control drugs is to REGULATE THEM AND END THE PROFITS AVAILABLE TO CRIMINALS just like ending alcohol prohibition did. There’s only been one drug success story in history, tobacco, THE MOST DEADLY and one of the MOST ADDICTIVE drugs. Almost half the users quit because of REGULATION, ACCURATE INFORMATION AND MEDICAL TREATMENT. No one went to jail and no one got killed. JOIN EMAIL LIST, WATCH VIDEOS:
Internet Explorer: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/home
Other Browsers: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/index.html
IT'S A
MISDEMEANOR! Really? “I would be facing 10 years if this was me”??? Who are you and what are you talking about? Please spend 1 hour of research on the Virginia Code before you reveal your ignorance in a public forum. It only takes a half ounce to be charged with poss. of marijuana with intent to distribute. This was probably also his first offense. Lastly, it is not illegal to have a registered gun as long as it is not concealed (where are all the 2nd Amendment junkies now??). It is also not illegal to posses a legal weapon while in possession of a non schedule I or schedule II drug. He had weed. Ask any lawyer, most judges, and almost any police officer how they feel about enforcing weed laws....laughable. In Norfolk, they don’t even prosecute them... If you don’t think Virginia sentences tough take a day off work and watch sentencings on any given friday. But please get a grip and stop the witch trials.
Wow....
Did Poindexter have a hand in this? Seeing as how....well athletes seem to have some halo (money) over their head, I guess the argument of "keepin a black man down" just doesn't cut the mustard anymore. Honestly though, if you have the money to hire the right lawyers or pay off the DA....Mr. Poindexter....it doesn't matter if you are black or white or whatever. I know that if I was caught with the same thing, I would be facing 10+ years with no question. Case in point is...Ahem...Mr Poindexter dragging his feet again on prosecuting Vick and Co. I already know that he is sweeping state charges under the table by delaying the trial in hopes that everyone forgets. Problem is, he is probably right and will enjoy that fat payoff. Gotta love it....
If Ryan Frederick is charged
If Ryan Frederick is charged with manufacturing for just a few joints, this guy should have been charged with a whole darn plantation of pot. It just goes to show that our court system can be bought.
Celebrity justice
California has been doing it for years, why shouldn't Virginia do it too? If your a celebrity you don't have to follow the same laws us "common" people have to.
Slap on wrist
It is obvious that we need to use his lawyer! 3 oz of pot, scales, handgun and he goes into treatment. How did he get acquited of the handgun charge? Is this a case of who you are, or who you were? This is a clear case of justice being blind, deaf and dumb. There is no wonder that criminals in VA do not fear being arrestted, no punishment. When are we going to learn? I hope he leads a straight life from now on, but I doubt it. The next step in the current path sounds like a shooting, possible death. He needs to be kept on a short leash!
and this is news?
maybe if the judge would give these fine up standing citizens some jail time, they would straighten out.
Can
local atheletes just stay out of trouble once in a while? C'mon..you've made it to a level that few will ever attain and you can't keep your nose clean? I hope that high was worth your future b/c that's what you've done....sacrificed your future for a very few moments of pleasure. I'm disappointed in these young men. They had the "tiger by the tail" only to allow the tiger to eat them alive!