South Carolina sheriff determining if Michael Phelps smoked pot in his county: intends to prosecute

[Bluebear]

Michael Phelps could face criminal charges as part of the fallout from a photo of him inhaling from a marijuana pipe at a house party.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C., that he would file charges against Phelps if he determines the swimmer smoked marijuana in the county. The sheriff's office released a statement Tuesday saying it "is making an effort to determine if Mr. Phelps broke the law."

"If he did, he will be charged in the same manner as anyone else," the statement said. "The sheriff has a responsibility to be fair, to enforce the law and to not turn a blind eye because someone is a celebrity."

The photo published in News of the World on Sunday was taken in November while Phelps was visiting the University of South Carolina, according to the British tabloid.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2009-02-03-phelps-sheriff_N.htm

[ixion]

1. stop harassing pot smokers

damnit!!


That is all.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Oooooooo! Leon wants his fifteen Minutes-O-Fame!

Don't matter to Leon one little bit that Phelps RECEIVED the pot from someone at the party!

No Sireeeeee! Leon's a-gonna be remembered! Gonna have him a Legacy!


Like George.


His idol.


:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Canuckistanian]

7. Looks like Leon's getting LAAAARGER

Never mind that he'll be laughed out of court. No prosecuting attorney is gonna touch this.

[BeatleBoot]

3. A University of Michigan Graduate

did that?



:rofl:

[Taverner]

4. Fucker

Seriously, if so - fucker


If not, fucker!

[SergeyDovlatov]

5. Let him do it. I hope that popular outrage will pave the way ...

for decriminalization.

As long as Obama is willing to take advantage of this opportunity and push for it.

Might even help with the economy. Hemp is a valuable commodity.

[ferrous wheel]

6. Leon sees a fifteen minutes of fame here! (not to mention a movie deal)

:grr: :puke:

[FreakinDJ]

8. What a Cork Soaker

[Bluebear]

26. !?!

[hobbit709]

9. Where's the evidence?

The picture doesn't prove anything. Where is Exhibit A-i.e. The pot? Produce the illegal substance Leon-or STFU.

[BadgerKid]

11. Exactly. WTF? Retroactive possession?

I'm sure there is more important "crime" to go after... :eyes:

[Bluebear]

16. He has him on FILM!!!!1

And with that film he can prove in which state he was and what was in the bong and....

Oh, no he can't.

[LisaL]

22. And what about his apology? That's basically a confession.

[Bluebear]

24. Phelps apologized for his “regrettable behavior” and his “youthful and inappropriate” actions.

Where's the evidence?

[LisaL]

32. What exactly is he regretting?

LOL.

[NeedleCast]

10. Good Luck With That

Phelps probably has more money at this point than most South Carolina counties.

[Tsiyu]

12. Which is precisely the point to the Lawman

Pot is the Number One cash crop for law enforcement.

They make boatloads off its illegal status, as do the courts, the attorneys, the prison contractors. It's the biggest racket going in this country.

What lawman worth his badge is gonna let the lack of evidence deter him from gettin' some of that Olympic dough?

Sadder? That no matter how much a person achieves, American justice insists on making a criminal out of him for essentially nothing.

What a sad nation we are.

[stillcool]

17. Nicely said...

we just love throwing other people in jail. Who needs evidence? The tv told me so.

[Tsiyu]

19. Hey, it was a Hookah, man!

Just blowing some of that Black Tropical Punch Herbal Shisha!



:smoke:

[Rosa Luxemburg]

13. That seems lame

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

14. Nothing like a hick sheriff trying to act like a big shot.

He'll be telling his grandkids about this one.

[Alexander]

15. You can't even see what's in the bong Phelps is smoking.

It could be empty (unlikely, I know).

It could be tobacco, or nutmeg, or salvia.

Nobody can prove he was smoking weed unless there are other pictures out there.

This is just a huge waste of time.

[RagAss]

18. Step aside there, Leon. I got this !

[Mendocino]

20. This SC burg must be perfect.

No speeders or drunk drivers, no domestic violence or assaults, no burglaries or thefts. Just a utopian Hazard County where the Sheriff has nothing better to do than chasing down evil, left-wing, tights-wearing, bomb throwing, commie pot smokers!

[stevedeshazer]

21. This is the stupidest thing ever.

Get photographed taking a bong hit, get prosecuted.

Steal two elections, start two wars based on lies, steal the entire U.S. Treasury, ruin the economy and squander every last shred of credibility on the world stage, move to a cul-de-sac and sell the pig farm.

Dear Amerika: You're lucky Michael Phelps even performs for you bastards!!!

LEAVE MICHAEL ALONE!!!!

[crimsonblue]

23. good luck proving anything illegal took place

Unless South Carolina has an anti-paraphernalia law, there is no way to prove any wrongdoing. In his released statement, Phelps never specifically admitted to smoking pot, only to doing something stupid. Also, it may prove extremely difficult to identify, without a reasonable doubt, the location in which the photo was taken.


That aside, wouldn't it be wonderful if Phelps became an advocate of modernized marijuana laws?

[KillCapitalism]

25. Well they better go round everyone else in the same situation.

A lot of younger folks have pictures on their myspace or facebook sites of them getting smoked out. Think they'll go after all of them too?

[aikoaiko]

27. Maybe the perfect matyr for the cause.

:shrug:

[Chimichurri]

28. Ooops.

[Chimichurri]

29. Good grief. Where were the prosecutors when Wall Street was pillaging

my 401K?

Leave the kid alone. Don't we have bigger, more catastrophic fish to fry????

[SalmonChantedEvening]

30. Catch a falling star and

Get yourself some stardom
Get yourself some fame today

Forgive me Mr. Como.

Blue! :hug:

[Telly Savalas]

31. If I lived in that county I'd be livid that my tax dollars were being wasted.

If the sheriff's office in that county has so much time on its hands that it can focus its attention on this, they need to lay off some people.

[Incitatus]

33. What a fucking joke

How much money could be saved in all these states that are billions of $ in the red if they didn't waste so much money prosecuting and jailing people for smoking a plant?

[MrSlayer]

34. A complete and total asshole.

Scum of the earth.