Four Univ. of Tennessee Basketball Players Arrested on Drug & Weapons Charges After Being Stopped for Speeding by Police Officer

Four University of Tennessee basketball players arrested on drug and weapons charges after being stopped by police officer for speeding.

Four University of Tennessee basketball players were arrested on drug and weapons charges Friday after they were stopped by a Knoxville police officer for speeding on Alcoa Highway near Kingston Pike. The four players were identified as, Cameron Tatum, the driver of the vehicle; Tyler Smith; Melvin Goins and Brian Williams. According to Knoxville News Sentinel, Smith and Williams face felony and misdemeanor charges, while Goins and Tatum face misdemeanor charges.

 What is disturbing to me, as in the case of the two Washington Wizard players Javaris Crittenton and Gilbert Arenas, who drew guns on each other during a dispute over a gambling debt, is the fascination of these young, black men with guns. All four UT basketball players were charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. According to the police, a gun, with an altered serial number, which is a felony, was found in the vehicle under the passenger seat.  Is it me or does it seem that possessing a gun seems to be a badge of honor for some of these young men? It will be very interesting to see who the owner of that gun is.

According to Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk, a KPD officer stopped the car about 11:30 a.m. today. He smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car as he spoke with the driver. He requested back-up and a K9 officer. After the K9 officer’s dog signaled the presence of drugs in the vehicle, the four young men were removed from the car so police could search it.

Inside the vehicle, according to DeBusk, officers found a handgun under the driver’s seat, "accessible by either the driver or left rear seat passenger." They also found a handgun, with an altered serial number under the passenger seat, accessible by either the front seat passenger or right rear seat passenger, according to DeBusk. They also found a baggy of marijuana and an open container of alcohol. Source: Knoxville  News Sentinel

Tyler Smith is a senior and the starting power forward, while Cameron Tatum is a redshirt sophomore. Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics to refer to the delay or suspension of an athlete's participation with the goal of lengthening his or her eligibility period. Brian Williams is a junior backup center and Melvin Goins is a junior college transfer who is the backup point guard, according to Knoxville News Sentinel.

For more on this story, click on the following link to the Knoxville News Sentinel:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/jan/01/four-ut-basketball-players-face-drug-and-weapon-ch/