Another Georgia football player has been arrested, with defensive back Ja’Marley Riddle being charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, both of which are felonies, and a misdemeanor speeding offense.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned that Riddle was arrested on Friday, May 8 by Glynn County Police in Brunswick, Georgia and charged with possession of marijuana of more than one ounce, possession of a schedule 1 controlled substance.
Georgia acknowledged the arrest, issuing a statement on the matter.
“We are aware of the charges and are actively gathering additional information,” a team spokesperson said in a statement. “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not be providing further comment at this time.”
The Georgia defensive back posted bonds totaling $16,526 on the same day of his arrest. He was booked at 3:10 p.m. ET and released at 4:05 p.m. ET, according to the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office. The news of Riddle’s arrest was first reported by WGIG 98.7 FM in Brunswick.
Riddle transferred into Georgia this offseason from ECU. He was limited this spring due to an injury he suffered in his time with the Pirates. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining and is expected to help Georgia in the secondary this fall.
In April, Georgia coach Kirby Smart was asked about Georgia’s driving record. Riddle’s arrest is the third this year for a member of the Georgia football team when it comes to driving. Chris Cole and Darren Ikinnagbon were both arrested on reckless driving charges back in February.
“We try to prevent the same mistake and you would think it’s as simple as just telling them, right? No, it does not work that way,” Smart said in an interview with 680 The Fan. “There’s nobody in the country, and I’ve asked everybody in the country that does a mandatory defensive driving course every year that requires players that don’t have driver’s license to take six hours with someone riding around with them to teach them how to drive. Because, unfortunately, we have kids that come in here every year.
“We want to educate them and help them with that. You can’t, you know, a lot of places can’t mandate that you have to do that. We do and we do because of our history that doesn’t make it perfect, but we’re certainly in a constant pursuit of perfection.”
