New Charges Mounting for NBA Player Charles E. Smith

Back in October of 2010, former NBA player Charles Edward Smith of the Boston Celtics was shot; said to be related to gambling debts. Last week, Smith found himself under fire again (but not so literally this time) from local authorities as he was charged with more drug related crimes. The 43 year old ex-NBA player and former basketball star at Georgetown University was the victim of a shooting on October 21st, 2010.

The incident happened at his home near Bowie, Maryland. Smith was shot one time in the upper body.

On October 29th, Smith was charged with three drug related crimes. According to the court records from Prince George’s Country District Court, the first charge was one count of “controlled dangerous substance” with the intent to distribute, second was one count of possession of a “controlled dangerous substance”, and third with possession of drug paraphernalia. The “dangerous substance” allegation refers to something other than marijuana, though the repost did not specify what.

According to police however, cocaine, and a rather large amount of it, had been found in Smith’s home. During the investigation of the shooting, a spokeswoman for the police department revealed that police had seized “a large quantity of cocaine and evidence of a gambling operation”.

The court records also show that the charges were shifted to Prince George’s county Circuit Court on November 16, 2010. Nothing more took place until last week, on January 11, 2011, when Smith’s charges were mounted (according to the same court record filings) with two additional charges. One was another charge of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and the other for manufacturing, distributing and possession with intent to distribute.

Charles Smith’s status conference has been scheduled for February 3rd, 2011 at 1:30 pm, with his trial date set for March 21st at 8:30 am.

The former basketball pro is not behind bars at this time. A reporter from Maryland community online news source, Gazette.net, attempted to speak with Charles via telephone on January 13. Smith answered the phone, but declined any comment.

His attorney, Jimmy A. Bell, had this to say: “My client was a victim of attempted home invasion. The police jumped to some conclusions not based on evidence, but based on sloppy police work.” He continued by saying that Smith is innocent “without question” of the charges brought up against him.

According to Cpl. Larry Johnson of the Prince George’s County Police Department, investigators believe that the shooting was the direct result of a gambling debt. There are still no suspects in the shooting, and that part of the investigation is ongoing.