Posted on 02/03/2009 1:45:19 PM PST by King of Card Games
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Olympic superstar Michael Phelps could face criminal charges as part of the fallout from a photo that surfaced showing the swimmer smoking from a marijuana pipe at a University of South Carolina house party.
A spokesman for Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who is known for his tough stance on drugs, said Tuesday the department was investigating.
"Our narcotics division is reviewing the information that we have, and they're investigating what charges, if any, will be filed," said Lt. Chris Cowan, a spokesman for agency.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Phelps hasn’t ruined anything. He is still a great athlete, with millions in endorsements every year. His sponsors have said that they stand behind him. He is a good kid, who made some bad choices. He has apologized. Some people need to remember what it was like to be young.
LOL!
You wrote:
“Phelps hasn’t ruined anything. He is still a great athlete, with millions in endorsements every year.”
For now. Are you sure he’ll keep those endorsements now that he is world renowned as an admitted doper?
“His sponsors have said that they stand behind him.”
That’s what they’ve said about other athletes...and then they withdrew their endorsements. It could happen here too.
“He is a good kid, who made some bad choices.”
Are you sure? Seriously, he didn’t learn after the drunk driving charge? I think he simply a moron. He’s the greatest swimmer ever...and he’s a moron.
“He has apologized. Some people need to remember what it was like to be young.”
No, sometimes people need to realize that youth is not much of an excuse - especially when you’ve already been convicted of drunk driving.
He’s 23 fro God ssake..Ok buddy , let.s give him the chair
He was 19 when he was arrested for drunk driving.
That was four years ago.
He learned NOTHING in four years?
I am amazed at how supposed conservatives here keep making excuses for this dumba$$. He was a drunk driver and now he apparently is a pothead. What is there to excuse? He’s been an adult for 5 years. He already got arrested for what is really substance abuse 4 years ago and he apparently learned NOTHING.
Let the liberals make excuses for dope users. I say, if there’s enough evidence, charge his a$$, convict him and let him be punished like anybody else.
It’s too bad he’s that dumb. Oh, he’s a great swimmer, but he’s a moron.
Evan more pathetic than how stupid this idiot is, is how Freepers keep making pathetic excuses for him.
He’s 23. He was already convicted of drunk driving FOUR YEARS AGO. No excuses.
Legalize it. Tax it gently. Take the mob out of the business. It’s still illegal to drive impaired. I wouldn’t use the stuff, nor do I want my kids to waste their time with it. That said, other adults own their own bodies.
Well, inspite of this, he could be President of the United States one day.
I have proof. LOL
We just had a known tax evader waltz back off the Washington stage, unprosecuted, and we got some Obsessive-Compulsive Law&Disorder types wanting to put the pinch on a guy because of a photo of a pot pipe.
GIVE ME A BREAK!!!
Really? There are idiot cops and DAs who will actually go thru with charges? Really?
Wow, this could be the worst use of tax dollars ever.
Geez, he does look like the 100% All American Tool.
Hell, I have no money right now and will throw that guy a hundred if this idiot sheriff goes through with this idiocy.
He ruined his chance to endorse wholesome legal drugs like Budweiser and Coors!
Towering achievements in sports (his 8 Olympic gold metals for swimming) and sucking marijuana smoke into your lungs tend to be somewhat incompatible.
Yet not to maybe the greatest swimmer of all time. Interesting, isn't it.
Charge him for a picture? As a conservative you’re willing to waste government resources for that? For that?
As for treating him like everyone else, I could mail this tool of a DA a picture of me smoking pot and claim that I did it in his county. For some bizarre reason, I really doubt he would waste the money and time to launch an investigation about it.
You wrote:
“Charge him for a picture? As a conservative you’re willing to waste government resources for that? For that?”
No. I am willing to spend resources on prosecuting him for drug use, however, and he’s already admitted that was the case. The picture is evidence of a crime, not a crime in itself. I do not confuse the one with the other.
“As for treating him like everyone else, I could mail this tool of a DA a picture of me smoking pot and claim that I did it in his county. For some bizarre reason, I really doubt he would waste the money and time to launch an investigation about it.”
Actually, I think if you did smoke pot, admitted it, and sent him the picture of it, he would prosecute you for basically being a moronic tool. It is the job of the DA to prosecute criminals. Since Phelps already admitted committing a crime - as was documented in the photo - then the DA has reason to believe a prosecution may be a worthwhile pursuit. He might decide against it for any number of reasons.
Ask yourself, however, the following:
1) Since Phelps admitted he smoked pot when the phot was taken, doesn’t that mean Phelps did in fact break the law?
2) That would mean the photo is evidence of that crime. Why shouldn’t a DA act on such evidence?
I never thought I’d see the day when conservatives would make a Bill Clinton kind of defense:
It’s just sex. Everybody lies about sex.
It’s just a picture of him smoking pot. Every 23 year old does stupid things.
He’s a dumba$$. Period. He violated the law and admitted it already. He’s a convicted drunk driver. He’s a dumba$$. This is no one’s fault but his own. Conservatives believe people are responsible for their own actions. Smoke the dope, dumb enough to film it, go to jail. Oh, well.
From The State Newspaper: "Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says he will charge Michael Phelps with a crime if he determines the Olympics hero smoked marijuana in Richland County. What do you know? Send us your photos of Michael Phelps in Columbia. And do you know who took the photo of Phelps smoking marijuana? Do you know where the party was? Read More Here
You’re willing to spend resources to charge him for a piddly misdemeanor case? Not me. I’d be angry if most cops spent that much time worrying about misdemeanor cases.
And there’s no way a cop would arrest me if I sent him a picture of me smoking pot and claimed that I did it in his jurisdiction. For one, I could just as easily backtrack on that statement. But the bigger, more practical reason is that a DAs case load is actually pretty full in most cases in this would be towards the very top of the “Who Gives a Damn” barrel.
As for your questions:
“1) Since Phelps admitted he smoked pot when the photo was taken, doesn’t that mean Phelps did in fact break the law?
2) That would mean the photo is evidence of that crime. Why shouldn’t a DA act on such evidence?”
1) Sure, I guess, if we assume that it was actually pot in there. I would wager it was.
2) Not if acting on the evidence is a waste of dollars for the “reward” of charging someone with a lame little misdemeanor. There’s a reason we have misdemeanor crimes. It’s because by their nature they are low priority and not a big deal. Maybe if it were a violent sort of misdemeanor that would be one thing, but this is rather petty as far as misdemeanors go.
I don’t know anything more than what I’ve read, and if I did know more why would I help this sheriff make a case against Phelps?
“Hell, I have no money right now and will throw that guy a hundred if this idiot sheriff goes through with this idiocy.”
Yeah, I think his opponent would get money from all over the country.
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