Cases against sports figures regarding drug usage have become rather commonplace in Texas and nationwide. A recent incident at a state university involved the arrest of D’Onta Foreman, a highly touted rookie running back for the Houston Texans. University police charged him with marijuana possession and the unlawful carrying of a weapon.
University of Texas Police issued a statement saying that they responded to a report of the smell of marijuana coming from three occupied vehicles near a campus residence hall. They identified Foreman as the possessor of a gun that was in one vehicle and discovered marijuana in all three vehicles. They arrested him for unlawful carrying of a weapon and marijuana possession.
The attorney for the accused issued a statement that cast doubt on the procedures and charges brought by the police. The statement indicated that Foreman was visiting friends, and as he was leaving their residence, the police approached him. He allowed them to search the vehicle and told the police that he had a duly registered handgun in the car.
He alleges that the gun was registered in his name and was properly secured in his vehicle. If that is true, the charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon would likely not hold up under further scrutiny. He asserts that a passenger in the car possessed marijuana but that he did not possess or use any.
He indicated that he would submit to a urinalysis upon his release on bond to prove that he did not use marijuana. The attorney’s statement puts into direct dispute several of the statements made by the university police. If he was in fact leaving the friend’s residence when confronted by the police, then the marijuana in the car would not be readily tied to him, assuming that there were passengers in the vehicle at the time. The defendant’s criminal defense on the two charges under the Texas criminal laws will be developed further as the case proceeds through the system.
Source: The Washington Post, “Texans rookie D’Onta Foreman arrested on drug and weapon charges“, Scott Allen, July 15, 2017