Not content with getting his name on Google eleventy kabillion times, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott is seriously pursuing this whole Michael Phelps bong fiasco.
Lott reportedly sent at least a dozen armed deputies to raid two Columbia area homes last weekend – all in an effort to find information and evidence that will further incriminate the Olympic swimmer, who was pictured last November smoking pot from a bong at a University of South Carolina fraternity party.
Neither the USC campus police nor City of Columbia police are investigating the incident, but Lott is moving forward with his investigation – and gradually ramping up the strong-arm tactics to get the dirt he’s looking for.
Honestly, that’s pretty frightening when you consider that he has a tank in his arsenal.
Anyway, eight people were arrested in the Phelps-related stings, which took place last Saturday.
Attorneys involved in the case have questioned Lott’s allocation of law enforcement resources, but he remains hellbent on filing charges related to this heinous crime of a kid taking a bong hit at a frat party.
We’re guessing money and fame may have something to do with it … like the kind Phelps has and Lott can only fantasize about.
“The efforts that are being made here are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” local defense attorney Jack Swerling told the Associated Press. “I know Leon Lott, I know him to be an honorable guy. I’ve known him for 30 something years. But the efforts here are extraordinary on simple possession cases.”
Incidentally, Lott’s political consultant is none other than “GOP” kingmaker Warren Tompkins, who held a gala fundraiser during the Democratic Sheriff’s reelection campaign last year.
Frankly, it wouldn’t surprise us in the least if Tompkins is pulling Lott’s strings on this …
By baked February 13, 2009 at 7:04 am
meanwhile…gangs are taking over richland county. brilliant distraction.
By Dave T. February 13, 2009 at 10:00 am
Lott is right- if Phelps were black and didn’t have 8 gold medals would anyone really be questioning whether or not he should be charged? The real hypocrite here is Phelps. Oh, he’s so sorry and takes responsibility for his actions… up to a point. If he had any balls, he’d come back, admit he did it, get charged, do his piddly community service. But no, he’s running around saying he’s sorry. He’s sorry- he’s sorry he got caught.
By Fashizzle February 13, 2009 at 11:04 am
If we have any good reporters left in this town they should be filing a FOIA request to find out how many tax dollars the Sheriff spent on this absurd escalation. Regardless of your views on marijuana, this type of police-state violence is unacceptable in America. This could easily be your kid, or a neighbor kid facing down dozens of armed men over a joint.
Will, if you name the time and place there would be dozens of people ready to join you. Imagine an army of citizens “invading” the lobby of the Sheriff’s Department in protest. We have got to draw a line in the sand.
By Cheech February 13, 2009 at 11:26 am
What USC students should do is organize a smoke-in. Take hundreds of pictures of each other with simulated bongs, oregano cigarettes, etc. No actual illegal activity, just enough to duplicate the Phelps phot. Print them out and post them on telephone polls all over Richland County. Will Lott do his sworn duty and investigate them all? Or will he pick and choose who he goes after?
By Preech February 13, 2009 at 11:47 am
Cheech, it’s folks like you that keep good people out of law enforcement. What is it, a game?
Phelps SHOULD take responsibility for it. It will soon be just a blip on his wide open road.
Pot should be legal — no doubt — and Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac etc. should be illegal. But, as it stands, our laws are retarded.
A friend in Mississippi had to do the Mississippi version of PTI over a freaking seed and a few flakes of pot, scraped out of her glovebox along with lint, Cheeto crumbs, spilled tanning lotion, and unidentified grie-doo by a trooper. Now THAT is retarded.
By Pres February 13, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Dave T., you obviously know nothing of the law. I defy you to find one case in Lott’s entire tenure where he has seen someone doing any drug in a photo and went on to prosecute the person afterwards.
By Don Johnson February 13, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Really, Lott? Really?
http://www.hulu.com/watch/56636/saturday-night-live-really-michael-phelps
By Arnold Swartzenager February 13, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Dear Sheriff,
Let’s get our priorities straight here. God grief, let’s leave the boy, Phelps alone, and go after the big criminals. Now if he was stoned when he won all those medals, (which I know he wasn’t because pot slows you down), we’d have something to be mad at as a country, the United States.
But if you arrest every young or old person who’s smoking pot in your county, you won’t have place to put them or people to handle it.
Let’s get real here. I have a lot of respect for you. But trying to prove Phelps is guilty of something in Lexington/Richland County is silly. Go after the really bad guys, dope dealers, drug smugglers, murderers, child abusers, gangs. Those are the people who deserve your undivided attention.
When you get all them cleaned out of the county, then you’ll have time to go after the Saturday night bong smokers.
By Steve February 14, 2009 at 2:10 am
Ethics not required in journalism:
http://rivercitytimes.blogspot.com/2009/02/pot-points.html
Lott should build his case around this apparent drug run business
By Old Bike Dude February 14, 2009 at 8:28 am
All the sheriff needs is some publicity and a bj, especially the bj. Dude needs to loosen up.
By lou February 14, 2009 at 10:12 am
There have been EIGHT MURDERS in the LAST TWO WEEKS> and they were not caused by people smoking weed.
Lott said he’d go after all crime in Richland County yet, there have been 8 murders in 2 weeks and he’s after a picture of an Olympic swimmer taking a hit off a bong………
jeez
no wonder there have been 8 murders in Richland County in 2 weeks…….
By the right side February 14, 2009 at 11:14 am
You guys probably were not around in the 80′s when he was a vice cop and REALLY adopted the Miami Vice style.
By Dave T. February 14, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Pres- pretty weak argument… Put down the bong. I mean “I defy you…?”
By Dave T. February 14, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Lou- narcotics cops DON’T investigate homicides and vice versa. I know that’s the impression you get when your knowledge base of law enforcement comes from watching CHiPs…. There is no diversion of resources because each is a separate entity, trained for their respective specialty. It would be like someone working in the produce aisle of the local grocery store going over and covering for the pharmacist.
By Palmetto CPA February 14, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Per the Richland County Sheriff’s website there are currently 57 unsolved homicides in Richland County.
I trust that the Sheriff has the same (or more) resources deployed on these cases; because I don’t know a single sane person who’d consider recreational marijuana use to be a bigger threat to the community than murderers on the loose.
If Lott thinks this is going to help him get re-elected, he must be high himself. This man is severely abusing our taxpayer resources and endangering the public by mis-allocating police resources.
By Dave T. February 15, 2009 at 9:20 am
Sic- I thought your blog appealed to conservatives dedicated to true Republican (non RINO) issues. Apparantely, that’s not the case. You’re attracting left leaning, pot smoking, soft on crime liberals, who think legalizing marijuana is a good thing and letting a pot smoking Olympic swimmer get off scott free is “justice.” Sic- you may have to go back to the old format!
By JL February 15, 2009 at 10:20 am
Dave T:
Actually, you are totally incorrect. It is the Richland Sheriff’s Office who executed those search warrants and there is no so such thing as a sheriff’s deputy who only handles narcotics cases. Deputies are used in all sorts of cases ranging from minor drug cases to homicides. So it is wrong to argue that no funds were diverted to this case from homicide investigation because the sheriff’s office operates as a single law enforcement entity under a single budget. So don’t bash Lou, he’s absolutely right. It is an unprecidented miscarriage of justice and one of the most blatant misuses of taxpayer dollars that I have ever heard of, anywhere.
By JL February 15, 2009 at 11:06 am
And by the way Dave, I do consider myself a moderate conservative and do not advocate the use of or legalization of marijuana. However, to allocate funding to pursue this ridiculously petty charge at a time when budgets for law enforcement in SC are literally being cut in half is the very definition of fiscal irresponsibility and Lott must be held accountable. Pot is just not dangerous! Ask any police officer who they fear more: drunks or stoners. I bet the vast majority will tell you that alcohol insights violent action much more frequently than smoking weed. It makes no sense to make this case a priority when no one was hurt by it. Meanwhile, multiple murders occur in Richland County and Lott can’t even get together a force capable of fully investigating any of them. That’s a borderline criminal offense in itself, or should be.
By Dave T. February 15, 2009 at 1:30 pm
JT- sorry you are wrong. There is a narcotics division that handles….narcotics. A homicide division that handles…guess what?… homicides. I guess you think traffic cops get pulled to investigate homicides when the homicide division is short staffed? I’ve said it before and I’ll said it again- put down the bong JT, that way you can focus enough to get a degree. As for the …”most blatant misuses of taxpayer dollars that I have ever heard of, anywhere..” you obviously have been too stoned to noticed the $787 BILLION DOLLARS Obama, and Congress just appropriated. Guess what, JT- those are your tax dollars. When you come off your high, consider that.
By Dave T. February 15, 2009 at 6:58 pm
JL- You are kidding me?
“Pot is just not dangerous! Ask any police officer who they fear more: drunks or stoners?????????????” Good one…. really… how’s this: smoking pot is illegal. Let me make it simple for you (in your stoned state): One beer: legal, so long as you do not exceed your BAC limit. One joint: illegal under any circumstance. So you’re a moderate conservative? What does that =?? RINO.
JL, “no one was hurt by it?” I mean, kids idolize this guy. They wanted to work out hard. Now, they think smoking pot makes them just like Mike. And you think no one was hurt by it? Sorry, JL, but today, and yesterday, and Monday, a bunch of kids smoked (will smoke) pot because Michael P. did it. You call that harmless? Go to the left where you belong……….
By Dave T. February 15, 2009 at 8:27 pm
JL-
“Pot is not dangerous.” How do you know?
D
By The Truth February 16, 2009 at 10:39 am
Dave,,relax and take a breath big boy..how stupid do you think kids really are? do you honestly think think because Phelps took a bong hit that thousands of kids are going to go out and smoke pot now? really, so by that logic are thousands of christian kids going to go out and get a back rub, some crystal meth and a happy finish from a gay model because thats what Ted Haggard did? (or countless Priests..)your argument is ridiculous. Alcohol kills literally hundreds of thousands annually and yet you think pot is worse? Judging by the rino comments i can assume you are also one who puts party ahead of country..you sir, are a toolbox!
By The Truth February 16, 2009 at 10:44 am
JL..you make a decent argument using reason, Davie the toolbox feels he must attack you and is hitting the keyboard so hard his “?” key must have been stuck as only a total Ahole would type that, and surely Dave isnt that much of a duesch, is he? Well ok we know the answer to that but i was trying to me nice in honor of Prez day..my bad..
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