Lincoln attorney Vince Powers joined the Hail Varsity Radio show on Friday to offer some insight into the arrest of wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. earlier this month. Morgan was arrested May 6 in Port Orange, Florida, for failing to come to a complete stop at which time he was found to be in possession of 21.4 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
“It’s a non-story,” Powers said. “In Florida the law is 20 grams. If you’re caught with 20 grams or less it’s a misdemeanor, more than 20 it’s a felony. We’re talking less than an ounce. It’s a $100 fine [in Nebraska].
“It looks from the online report that the stop might have been a little funky saying he didn’t come to a complete stop. But if it was a serious charge there would be a motion to suppress to see if the officer had a right to stop him or not . . . When the prosecutor looks at it, I assume they will offer pretrial diversion. He’ll do some community-service work. I guess the advice is go have your vacation in Colorado.”
Powers went on to say that, according to a report, Morgan was polite during the stop and told the officer the marijuana was his, factors that could influence the prosecutor’s decision.
“The fact that it’s a felony is a serious matter,” Powers said. “A felony, for those who don’t know, means it’s punishable by a year or more in prison. The county he’s in has pretty lax marijuana laws. Look, Florida’s got real crime. I mean, they’ve got real problems. The last thing they want to do is worry about somebody with 21 grams and maybe if they weight it it comes in less than 20 and then it’s a misdemeanor . . . It’s a very minor offense.”
Nebraska sports information director Keith Mann released the following statement Friday afternoon:
“Head Coach Mike Riley and the Athletics Department are aware of a recent incident in Florida involving Stanley Morgan Jr. We will have no additional comment until we have all information regarding this matter.”
