Pubdate: Tue, 17 Feb 2009
Source: State, The (SC)
Copyright: 2009 The State
Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.thestate.com/
Author: Rick Brundrett

PHELPS ESCAPES CHARGES

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said he had no choice but to
investigate suspected marijuana use by Olympic swimming champion
Michael Phelps.

But, in the end, deputies couldn't find enough evidence to charge
Phelps, Lott said Monday, though the winner of a record eight gold
medals in the Summer Olympics admitted being pictured holding a
marijuana pipe at a November party in Columbia.

"We had no physical evidence; we had a picture," Lott told reporters.
"We didn't have enough where we could go arrest him."

Lott rejected criticism he was grandstanding and wasting taxpayer
dollars on a relatively minor drug case, explaining he has "seen
people die" from smoking marijuana.

"I don't care what a dope smoker in California says about the
Richland County Sheriff's (Department). I worry about people here in
Richland County who elected me to be their sheriff to protect them."

Lott said he hopes Phelps, who wasn't interviewed by investigators,
is "learning from this, and I hope he takes what he's learned from it
and gives it to other kids."

"He's got one of the most highly publicized mistakes I think you
could ever make when it comes to drugs," Lott said.

In a statement issued later Monday afternoon, Phelps said he was
"glad this matter is put to rest."

"But there are also some important lessons that I've learned. For me,
it's all about recognizing that I used bad judgment, and it's a
mistake I won't make again. For young people especially -- be careful
about the decisions you make."

He said he will "move forward and dive back into the pool, having put
this whole thing behind me."

Phelps had said earlier publicly he was reconsidering whether he
would participate in the 2012 Olympics. He landed in hot water after
the photo was published. USA Swimming suspended him from competition
for three months, and cereal maker Kellogg's said it would drop a
lucrative endorsement deal.

Olympic officials said that while they were disappointed with Phelps'
behavior in Columbia, it wouldn't affect his gold-medal status
because the November party incident occurred during the competition off-season.

Phelps' Columbia attorney, Bill Nettles, said Monday Lott "conducted
a fair investigation."

"The reason he didn't get charged wasn't because he is Michael
Phelps," said Nettles, a longtime criminal defense attorney who is a
leading candidate to become South Carolina's next U.S. Attorney. "The
reason he didn't get charged was because there wasn't any evidence of
wrongdoing."

The marijuana pipe Phelps was pictured holding was recovered Feb. 4,
though there was no evidence in or on the pipe to tie it to Phelps,
Lott said. He said he could not charge Phelps with possessing drug
paraphernalia, explaining there is no such criminal law in South
Carolina or Richland County.

Lott said investigators interviewed some witnesses who were at the
party the first week in November at a Blossom Street home, though he
declined to discuss details. In an article published in The State on
Feb. 8, a person who attended the party said a marijuana pipe was
being passed among 15 to 20 people, though he didn't see Phelps use it.

Lott said Monday no one else who attended the party would face
charges stemming from the incident.

Lott acknowledged that even if he were able to charge Phelps, he
couldn't extradite him on simple marijuana possession under state law
because the charge carries less than a year behind bars. Under state
law, simple possession of marijuana carries a 30-day jail sentence or
fines and assessments totaling $570.

Longtime Columbia criminal defense attorney Jack Swerling, who was
not involved with the Phelps case, said he wasn't surprised the case
was dropped.

"I believe it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible,
to go ahead and prove that case. They would have to have witnesses
testify that Phelps was smoking marijuana, and that they (the
witnesses) knew it was marijuana -- presumably because they used it
themselves."

Asked whether his client used marijuana that night, Nettles replied,
"I wasn't there, but if there had been any evidence that he had been
smoking pot there, Leon Lott would have charged him."

Nettles said he met once with Lott and had as many as a dozen phone
conversations with him over the past week, though he stressed, "There
were no negotiations."

Nettles said he was contacted by "Michael Phelps' people" Jan. 31 --
the day America learned the photo had been published in the British
tabloid News of the World.

"They recognized there was the possibility of criminal charges," he said.

Nettles said he first met with Phelps on Feb. 2 at the office of
Phelps' agent outside Washington, D.C., when he was in Washington on
unrelated business. He said he spoke with Phelps "a lot" by phone.

Lott said after learning about the published photo, he assigned
narcotics officers to the investigation Feb. 2. He rejected criticism
he spent an inordinate amount of time and resources on the
investigation, noting two narcotics agents spent a total of 25 hours
"in the course of a little over a week" handling the case and other
unrelated cases.

Deputies on Feb. 7 raided the Blossom Street home where the November
party was held and another home on Lake Murray in the Ballentine
area, arresting seven mostly college-age adults on simple marijuana
possession charges.

Longtime Columbia defense attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Joe
McCulloch, who represent three of the seven charged, contended Lott
was conducting an overzealous investigation to try to build a case
against Phelps. None of the charges against the seven stemmed from
the November party.

Harpootlian, a former top prosecutor for Richland and Kershaw
counties, said deputies who raided the Lake Murray home were mainly
concerned whether his client, who formerly lived at the Blossom
Street home, saw Phelps use marijuana during the November party.

Harpootlian also said 12 deputies kicked in the door to his client's
home "with guns drawn," though they seized no more than about 6 grams
of marijuana.

Lott disputed Harpootlian's account, saying seven deputies were
involved in one raid and 10 in the other, and no guns were pointed at
suspects, though they were drawn for the officers' protection.

"There was nothing done special in this investigation. This was as
normal an investigation as could ever be done."

Lott pointed out his department had evidence of drug activity at both
homes before the Phelps' photo was published.

Contacted Monday, Harpootlian said although Lott generally "does a
good job, this was an aberrant exception." He said he expects his
22-year-old client will be allowed to participate in a
court-supervised diversion program that would allow the charge to be
dismissed eventually.

"Now that the celebrity issues are resolved" McCulloch added, "we
look forward to resolving this like we would any other similar case."
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