ATHENS — The good news is that the charges against Georgia’s Jonathan Ledbetter were dropped. The bad news is that it’s not likely to change his availability for the Bulldogs’ first game.

Ledbetter, a sophomore defensive end, was arrested in March for possessing a fake ID and underage possession of alcohol. As reported first by The Athens Banner-Herald on Tuesday, those charges were dropped by Athens-Clarke County solicitor C.R. Chisholm.

“The State agreed that it was likely to lose a motion to suppress (evidence), so it was dismissed,” Kim Stephens, Ledbetter’s attorney, confirmed Tuesday.

However, that development is not expected to override UGA’s decision to suspend Ledbetter for the first game of the season. That’s in keeping with the Bulldogs’ alcohol-use policy for student-athletes, which calls for a suspension for 10 percent of competition dates.

Georgia plays North Carolina in the season opener against North Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. Ledbetter projects as a starter at defensive end this season. He played in seven games and had four tackles as a backup last season.