Matt Wagner • Staff Writer • mw102906@ohiou.edu
Two suspended Ohio University basketball players pleaded guilty to marijuana possession charges last week.
Freshman guard James Jay E. Kinney, 19, from Champaign, Ill., and sophomore guard Steven L. Coleman, 20, from Melbourne, Fla., pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana Thursday. Coleman also pleaded guilty to having drug paraphernalia.
Coach John Groce indefinitely suspended the two from competition last week.
The department is aware of the recent legal situation regarding Ohio guards Steven Coleman and Jay Kinney
said Jason Corriher, assistant athletics director for Media Relations, in a statement, adding the pair was suspended before Thursday's game.
Groce could not be reached for comment.
OU police stopped Kinney and Coleman, who are roommates in Sargent Hall, after observing that their black Chevrolet sport-utility vehicle had a broken headlight, according to police reports.
When an officer approached the car, he noticed a light odor of marijuana and a green, glass pipe in the back seat, according to police reports.
The officers searched Kinney and found a bag of marijuana in his pocket, according to the report. They then searched the car and found a plastic bag of marijuana in a backpack as well as the pipe.
Coleman told police the marijuana in the backpack and pipe belonged to him.
The officer also found two peach-colored pills marked West-Ward 477 in the car's glove box, according to the report.
The pills were not included in the charges but were taken as evidence.
Kinney will pay $199 in fines and court costs. Coleman will pay $299 for his two charges and could go to jail for 30 days if he breaks the law again during the next two years.
The judge also suspended Kinney and Coleman's driver's licenses for six months.
Kinney and Coleman were suspended for the first three games of preseason play. Kinney's previous suspension stemmed from his arrest for marijuana possession in September. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of persistent disorderly conduct. Coleman was suspended for violating team rules.
Kinney and Coleman's indefinite suspensions bring the total number of players suspended to three.
Groce also suspended guard Armon Basset and forward DeVaughn Washington during the preseason, but Bassett, who was suspended for academic reasons, returned to play after four games. Washington, who completed his initial suspension, was suspended indefinitely in mid-January for violating team rules. 1
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Frank Thomas
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STEVEN COLEMAN
