Ex-Louisville basketball star and NBA player Montrezl Harrell facing felony drug charge
Former Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell has been charged with trafficking less than five pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop in Richmond, Kentucky, Sunday morning, according to a police citation.
According to the report, at 9:58 a.m., Harrell, now with the Charlotte Hornets, was in a 2020 Honda Pilot and was pulled over for following the car in front of him too closely. The officer said he smelled marijuana from inside where Harrell was a passenger in the car he said he had rented.
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Harrell admitted to being in possession of marijuana and pulled "a small amount" from his sweatpants, according to the police report. A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of a backpack that contained three pounds of vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana, the report said.
Harrell's arraignment was originally scheduled for Monday but has been moved to 9:30 a.m. July 13. The trafficking charge is a class D felony, which carries up to 1-5 years in prison.
In his eighth NBA season, Harrell averaged 11.4 points and 4.9 rebounds with the Hornets after being traded from the Washington Wizards in February. The Hornets went 43-39 last season and fell to the Atlanta Hawks 132-103 in the play-in game, missing the playoffs.
During his career at Louisville, the North Carolina native averaged 11.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while helping the squad win a national championship as a freshman in 2013. The title was later vacated because of NCAA violations.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Former Louisville player Montrezl Harrell faces felony drug charges
