Jaamal Berry Arrested
Details are hard to come by right about now, but evidently incoming recruit Jaamal Berry has been arrested for marijuana possession in Miami.
College Fantasy Football Insider is linking to a CBS4 story that has a title clues in the URL, but no content?
Stay tuned…
UPDATE: Berry has a case on file with the court. You can search for it under the defendants tab by punching in his first and last name along with his sex. 20+ grams is a felony in Florida.
UPDATE 2: Mugshot.
(Via OHD)
http://www.collegefantasyfootballinsider.com/stats/player-news.aspx?newsID=...
I don’t want to be a negative nancy, but I think he’s in real trouble. On the Miami-Dade Clerk’s website, I think Jaamal Berry’s case number appears as F-09-019391. Worse yet: there’s a 20+ in the charge, which I think means he was caught with more than 20 grams of weed. While it’s a possession charge (not an intent to distribute charge), 20+ means it’s a felony. http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4530&wtm_view=penalties
I think. Again, if someone is an expert on Florida’s legal code, please correct me if I’m wrong.
Yeah, looks bad if that’s the amount he was carrying. Worse yet, he just turned 18 two weeks ago, so he’s an adult as far as this is concerned.
(Side note, felony for potentially less than an ounce seems a little stiff to me, but that’s how Florida rolls, I guess.)
You can search for the case by clicking the defendant tab here and putting in his first name, last name and sex:
http://www2.miami-dadeclerk.com/CJIS/CaseSearch.aspx
To go along with your side note Jason, a felony for 20 grams does seem pretty harsh, considering it carries the same punishment in Florida as growing or selling up to 25 POUNDS of weed…$5,000 fine and up to 3 years in jail.
It’s just too bad this had to happen right now.
first time offense he will get probation. Was it in one bag? He could plea. He should plea. they will go easy on him since its his first time and he does have a future.
Personally I feel Jamaal was just trying to make a little side cash get off his nuts its not like it was crack rock with a 9mm. However he now has a very small amount of room to f up when he comes up here. Good thing we are loaded at RB for the next two years. Opens the door for Hyde if this blows up into anything big which i don’t think it will.
uuuggggghhhhh
at least this doesn’t count towards the fulmer cup
also i guess the word going around is that it was 28 grams of weed, which isn’t exactly at nate newton levels, but still a pretty decent chunk of pot in the eyes of the law. calling it a felony is pretty rough, but it’s not like the kid had half a joint in his trunk or something.
interesting to see where Tressel goes from here, i’m not even sure what we should do with the kid
You give the kid a second chance!! As Jason said, he just turned 18 and has made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean Tressel should give him the boot. Let’s just hope this isn’t a pattern and a change to Columbus will do the kid good.
True, but like Corey mentioned above, an ounce is hardly 25 pounds and they both carry the same punishment. You could make an argument that one man could smoke an entire ounce over the course of a month or two.
yeah, like a said, calling that a felony is kind of absurd. on the other hand, i’m a lot less inclined to say that this is one of those things where you just have berry run wind sprints and put him in the dog house all summer. i think Tress needs to maybe suspend this kid from the team for a while.
(please note that a suspension doesn’t mean berry becomes persona non grata with the team; it just means he isn’t practicing or playing)
i agree with this dude. an ounce of weed should not be a felony. an ounce of weed is, however, indicative of more than a recreational user. if dude got busted with me and half a joint at a party, wind sprints are cool as punishments.
were i tressel, instead of a delicious bag of chips, i would suspend the kid and be ready to dismiss him if he colors outside the lines at all in the future. an ounce is no joke (though again, not a g-d felony) and the kid could easily be dealing on the side. do not want.
Stupid!!! These young men have a wonderful opportunity in front of them. A chance to play the sport that they love at The Ohio State University. They have the opportunity to graduate with a degree from a great institution with no debt. (I’m shelling out $500/month for another 8.5 years) for my education from this great institution. Follow the rules (society’s rules, coaches rules…) and all of this could be theirs.
Yes we can give the young man a second chance, but… damn, it’s stupid to do and really stupid to get caught! How hard is it to just not do it!
Very hard actually, once you’ve tried it. But it’s also really easy to not get caught.
Amen Sam!
Honestly, I’m always one for giving 2nd chances but truthfully he doesn’t deserve one at all. I mean I know when I was young I did stupid things, but never anything that would get me arrested or certainly a felony. This crap happens too often and the fact of the matter is, these kids aren’t you’re average 18 year old. They have the world at their fingertips as long as they don’t screw up with the cops or class. 2 easy things, don’t get in trouble, and don’t flunk out of school. Now, he has set himself back significantly in my mind. He may not be much of an option this year where people did think early on he would be. I think we’ll be solid at running back, but this is just idiotic. He’ll get a slap on the wrist and he’ll learn how to not get caught next time. If it were a normal kid like me jail time, big fine, and probation. That’s wy I don’t get in trouble, I would have consequences.
You would have consequences but not one judge in the country would take your entire future from you for 20 grams of marijuana. Its real easy to say he should walk a straight line from where you sit, but you are not Jaamal Berry. Hes an 18 year old kid who has made a mistake, he wasnt stealing and he didnt hurt anyone. The American legal system is already to harsh on non-violent criminals, and a felony for less than an once of weed? Gimme a break. Save the courts money and more importantly MY tax dollars for rapists and murderers, not an 18 year old with a little bag of dope. Call his parents, let them and Coach Tressel handle it. Id be more concerned if he was driving drunk.
Agreed. Marijuana laws are complete bullshit. I’ve smoked once – and the people who bought the weed for the party I was at probably had close to 20 grams in the bag. I was the valedictorian of my school, had a full right at OSU, and now have a great paying job. Should I be a felon?
Pot laws are fueled by ignorance – it’s stupid to break the law knowing the consequences, but it’s a damned stupid law.
I’m not saying a felony is a fair penalty or he should get one. I’m saying the school’s stance should be more firm, then we wouldn’t every year have players or potenital players getting in trouble. It’s stupid, and I don’t care how old the kid is. You know you have a scholarsip to a huge school, you know you are one of the top 100 incoming freshman, you know you are going to be in the spotlight, so you walk the line. Don’t drive with a bag of pot, do iat home. Let one of your buddies get caught with it.
I know more than one person who lost an academic scholarship because they were caught with pot or they got a DUI. The same standards should be held for a person who can run fast with a football.
Arraignment will be on July 2nd, says the Dispatch.
w/ mugshot: http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2009/06/11/story_jamaal_berry.html?sid=102
oh God it looks like every other picture of jaamal berry i’ve ever seen ever, except in this one he’s pretty clearly stoned. i hate this crap
I think they should give him one more chance. I do think the coaches will give him the benefit of the doubt (young, stupid, etc), but, he’s on thin ice for a long time.
SONOFABITCH
im losing respect for this university as each day passes by. this is technically another blow and loss for osu…..explain to me why i should continue to support ohio state.
because this was a dumb move by a kid who hasn’t even come here yet and the vast majority of people associated with the OSU football program are decent hardworking dudes.
read this and stop freaking out, duder:
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2009/04/21/GamePlan_Filler_0421.ART_ART_04-21-09_C2_D3DK7E1.html?sid=101
i did really, really like antonio smith. im just growing weary of this never ending pattern of arrests and “mistakes”. not every coach or person can look out for a player or student, but my god there is always boneheaded shit every 3 months. what will happen in september??
you’re really, really, really overreacting. this happens at virtually every major college football program. look at florida’s police incidents over the last two years and then slap yourself for ever whining about occasional pot usage by three or four OSU football players
ok i will get right on that one, duder.
Remove Berry’s scholarship and at least give it to a walk on who has ket his nose clean and has done everything that has been asked of him.