Four NC State Football Players Face Drug Charges

Monday, April 26, 2010

Four N.C. State football players face drug charges

Four N.C. State football players face misdemeanor charges after a search of an apartment near campus turned up marijuana and drug paraphernalia early Saturday morning, according to records at the Wake County courthouse.

Three players - defensive tackles Markus Kuhn and J.R. Sweezy, and offensive tackle Jake Vermiglio - were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, simple possession of marijuana and maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of using a controlled substance. All the charges are misdemeanors.

Tight end George Bryan faces a single charge of maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of using a controlled substance.

Through a school spokeswoman, N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien commented in a brief statement.

"I have been made aware of the situation," O'Brien said, "and appropriate action will be taken."

According to a Raleigh police search warrant, the players were in a College Inn apartment where police found marijuana and drug paraphernalia early Saturday morning.

An off-duty Raleigh police officer working security at the College Inn complex on the 2700 block of Western Boulevard reported smelling the strong odor of marijuana from the doorway of a third-floor apartment as he walked the hallway at about 1 a.m. Saturday, according to the warrant.

After knocking on the door and meeting the tenants to confirm his observations, the warrant said, investigators seized three plastic bags filled with about six grams of marijuana, a "blunt" cigar stuffed with marijuana, two homemade bongs and other paraphernalia.

Sweezy was suspended from the team indefinitely in March after an unrelated incident. He was charged with misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor larceny after a March 18 altercation with a shuttle bus driver in Mooresville.

More details to come.

Staff writer Ken Tysiac contributed to this report.

Posted by Observer Sports at 1:01 PM