Sacramento Kings forward Zach Randolph has been charged with resisting arrest, as well as misdemeanor marijuana possession stemming from an incident last month at a Los Angeles housing project, according to ESPN. Randolph had originally been facing a charge of "possession of marijuana with intent to sell" which is a felony, but Los Angeles city prosecutors decided to charge him with misdemeanor drug possession instead.
Per ESPN,
"Court documents say the 36-year-old Randolph possessed "more than 28.5 grams of marijuana or more than four grams of concentrated cannabis or both." Randolph also is accused of resisting arrest and obstructing a Los Angeles police officer in the discharge of the officer's duties."
According to a report by TMZ, LAPD were called to the Nickerson Gardens area in Los Angeles around 10pm on August 9th and found a large group of people smoking, playing loud music and blocking the road. The report states three people in the crowd "grabbed their waistband" and made a run for it so cops went after them, ultimately detaining three people from the scene, including Zach Randolph.
After Randolph's arrest pandemonium broke out in the street. According to TMZ, six cop cars were vandalized, including slashed tires and broken windows, and the LAPD was forced to form a battle line to calm things down. In total, cops recovered two guns, drugs, and a "significant amount of cash."
When TMZ caught up with Randolph's former Blazers teammate, Rasheed Wallace, he told them he knows for a fact Randolph was not slinging weed on the side. Sheed simply chalked it up to, "the bigger the paycheck, the bigger the party."
Randolph, a 16-year NBA veteran, signed a two-year $24 million deal with the Kings this offseason. In addition to Z-BO, the Sacramento Kings also brought in veteran Vince Carter on a one-year deal to help act as leaders on the young squad as they continue to transition out of the DeMarcus Cousins era.
Randolph is scheduled to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom September 14th, according to ESPN.