Thompson arrested for possession in Gainesville

By Adam Silverstein
February 23, 2014

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Deonte Thompson was arrested Friday night for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia after a car he was a passenger in was pulled over for driving without headlights.

Though Thompson claimed ownership of a duffle bag that was in the car, he denied that the contents of it – 29 grams of marijuana found inside a number of small pouches – were his. The driver, Alvon Summerall, and other passenger, Erskine McKinley, both claimed ownership of the marijuana inside the bag.

All three were arrested for possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Thompson was held in Alachua County Jail on $7,000 bond but has since been released.


Just one month earlier on Jan. 27, the former Florida Gators pass catcher was cited with fines totaling $450 after Gainesville Police pulled him over for speeding in a school zone (20-29 miles per hour).

More concerning than Thompson’s most recent arrest is the company he was keeping on Friday evening. According to WUFT.com, McKinley has served three years in prison for a number of crimes “including two attempted murders, shooting, illegally owning a weapon or ammo and robbery, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.”

McKinley was also named by witnesses in October 2010 for allegedly taking part in a drive by shooting in Belle Glade, FL, Thompson’s hometown, though “prosecutors did not pursue a series of charges … [including] first-degree murder with a gun, two counts of attempted murder, grand theft and illegally owning a gun.” Just one year later, he was found guilty of battery on a law enforcement officer.

In his two NFL seasons, Thompson has totaled 15 receptions for 147 yards for Baltimore while primarily serving as a back-up at both receiver and kick returner. He is entering the final season of a three-year, $1.44 million contract and is set to earn $571,334 should the Ravens retain him for 2014.

“We are aware of the situation,” Baltimore team spokesman Chad Steele told The Baltimore Sun. “We are gathering more facts. There are two sides to every story.”

23 Comments

  1. SC-Gator says:

    Heh… “Stoned Hands”

  2. Ken (CA) says:

    what is the significance of > 20 grams? does that turn it into a higher class misdemeanor or does it become a felony? Sounds like either way he is making some really bad decisions. Amazing with all the mentoring these guys get how they just can’t seem to get out of the inner city the came from

    • Daniel M. says:

      Inner city? Huh Ken? You will find weed in every social caste in America. Plus, Thompson is from Belle Glade.

      • Ken (CA) says:

        Really? That’s what you got out of that response? Ah ave this gang/tough guy mentality due to the frequent culture of the sport nowadays. Look at all th e thugs in the NFL and how it accepts them, wife beaters, murderers, crimes all over the spectrum, as long as you no longer use the N word. As long as the culture is accepted it will thrive. This isn’t about the weed, while that is a poor decision, that question was only about what was the significance of theamount if that pushed it to a felony. The comment was about the associations he chooses and the bad decisions he makes going on from there

    • gatorboi352 says:

      “they just can’t seem to get out of the inner city the came from”

      And do they still have segregated water fountains where you live too, Ken? *eye roll*

      • Ken (CA) says:

        Where does race enter into this other than that appears to be the first thing that comes to your mind. It is all about acceptable culture within the sport. Ever heard of a guy named Aaron Hernandez? I said the same things about the culture and the mentality then to. Clearly this isn’t about race, except to those who want to take it there

        • brlgator says:

          Ken (CA),

          Great question, more than 20 grams makes the possession charge a class II felony with a jail sentence up to 5 years. The fact that the marijuana was in small baggies would have allowed the officers to arrest them for possession with the intent to distribute but it doesnt appear that they did.

        • gatorboi352 says:

          “Where does race enter into this other than that appears to be the first thing that comes to your mind.”

          If Deonte Thompson were white, would you still have typed out “inner city” when describing him? And taking it to a very literal stance, how do you know Thompson is even from the inner city?

          Stereotyping is bad.

          • Ken (CA) says:

            I absolutely would have, just as I did previously with Hernandez, thug, inner city, ghetto, gang-like not everything is a racial keyword, it describes a type of mentality. Not every inner city person is black, it is just a type of mentality. It is you who decided to throw race into it, no one else. I will leave it and your race card triggers at that and not comment in that regard anymore. Everyone else here understood the point

  3. Michael Jones says:

    A lot of these athletes just can’t seem to stay away from pot. Not even happy to just smoke it in their homes and run the risk of failing a drug test. Have to take it outside with them wherever they go, and then ride around in a car so baked that they don’t even know their headlights are off.

  4. uf_84 says:

    Hard to understand. Sometimes you can take the boy out of the ghetto but you can’t take the ghetto out of the boy. They don’t want to abandon their old friends but those same “friends” do nothing but cause their downfall. Hope his weed party was worth it. If it didn’t cost him his career, it will cost him a lot of money on the league minimum contract he will be lucky to get offered.

    It truly is sad that for a lot of these guys loyalty to the hood is greater than the desire to rise above it. At least he has a super bowl ring he can hock once the money he’s made up to now is gone.

    • Ken (CA) says:

      Watch out 84,language like that and boi will brand you are a racist too!

      • uf_84 says:

        Yeah I’m probably one of the joke commenters he’s talking about. Whatever. Most of his posts seem like they are bong induced anyway so it’s no big surprise he holds a favorable opinion of legalizing marijuana. If pointing out the stupidity of blowing an NFL paycheck to drive around and smoke reefer with a guy who has a rap sheet as long as McKinley’s makes me a racist then so be it.

        • Michael Jones says:

          Yeah, that’s the whole deal. As fascinating and wondrous as it is to engage in these philosophical and moral debates regarding the legalization of marijuana (which I will concede is probably no worse than alcohol), the bottom line is that as of NOW, it is still illegal, so why would you jeopardize your NFL career for it? Whatever color your skin is?

  5. gatorboi352 says:

    Some of you commenters are a joke, I swear.

    Can’t wait until this plant, which grows from the earth, is finally fully legalized across all states. Only a matter of when, not if.

    Ridiculous charge.

    • Michael Jones says:

      Yeah, these commenters are a joke. Poppies grow from the earth. So do cocoa leaves. How bad can they be?

      You should make a list of all the crimes that you don’t think should be enforced and email it to the police chiefs of all the cities that are currently enforcing them. It will cut down on a lot of these ridiculous arrests.

      • Michael Jones says:

        *coca leaves

      • gatorboi352 says:

        I’m sorry, I was unaware cocaine grew from the ground. Oh wait it doesn’t, only cocoa leaves do and requires heavy human interaction and manipulation to turn it into cocaine (a highly dangerous and deadly substance).

        Way to compare apples to oranges.

    • brlgator says:

      GatorBoi,

      I do agree with you generally but its dumb to drive around with that much (keep it under 20 grams) and to keep it in multiple small baggies. Furthermore it doesn’t help the cause to legalize marijuana if people are pulled over for dumb traffic laws while they have it on them or have possibly used it recently.

  6. SWFL Joe says:

    Thank God he developed his drug habit after playing for Meyer and not while.

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