With only a week until its biggest game of the season, LSU football is back in the national news for all the wrong reasons.
Former Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu was among four former Tigers arrested Thursday afternoon on charges stemming from 18 grams of marijuana that were seized from Mathieu’s apartment.
Joined by former teammates Jordan Jefferson, Karnell Hatcher and Derrick Bryant, Mathieu was taken into custody at approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday after police were summoned to The Venue at Northgate apartment complex at 262 W. State St.
Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman Lt. Don Kelly said officers responded to a call from a maintenance worker and apartment management after Jefferson attempted to break in through the front gate for the second time in a “few days.”
“He was attempting to damage their property by coming in through the gate, and they wanted him banned from the property,” Kelly said.
Mathieu eventually let Jefferson into the complex after the former LSU quarterback exchanged words with the maintenance worker. Jefferson was seen walking into Mathieu’s apartment, where officers then pursued him.
“When [officers] knocked on the door, Tyrann Mathieu opened the door, and the officers said they were overpowered by the smell of marijuana coming from the apartment,” Kelly said.
Seizing 10 bags of marijuana – seven from Bryant’s bag, one from Mathieu’s dresser drawer and two more from common areas around the apartment – officers took the four men into custody, charging Mathieu and Jefferson with simple possession of marijuana, Hatcher with second offense simple possession of marijuana and Bryant with possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
Kelly said officers also found a scale and marijuana grinder, and the four offered no resistance and were relatively cooperative when confronted by officers.
Transported to the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Thursday night, the former Tigers will appear in front of a grand jury for possible indictments.
Persistently keeping quiet on Mathieu’s possible return to the Tigers, the LSU Athletics Department kept the same tone Thursday after the latest misstep in Mathieu’s saga.
“We haven’t commented on Tyrann’s potential future on or off the team to this point, so we won’t do that at this time either,” said LSU Senior Associate Athletics Director Herb Vincent on Thursday afternoon. “…It’s too early to comment on anything right now, since the arrest is fresh.”
Mathieu, the 2011 Bednarik Award winner and Walter Camp National Player of the Year finalist, was dismissed from the team in August for failing numerous drug tests, according to reports.
Fresh off a stay at the Right Step recovery center in Houston while being mentored by former NBA star and recovered drug addict John Lucas, Mathieu told The Daily Reveille in September he felt he had gained control of his problems.
“I’m finished with that treatment phase and it went well,” Mathieu said. “A lot of issues that I was dealing with, I felt like I got those things handled.”
Adding that he felt great to be back on campus in September, Mathieu said his focus wasn’t on the football field, but in the classroom.
“I’m just kind of working on the self more than the athlete,” Mathieu said. “As of right now, I’m focusing on graduating.”
Thrust back into the public eye after a recent cover story written for Sports Illustrated, Mathieu’s plans for the future have, for the moment, been derailed by Thursday’s developments.
A controversial figure throughout his 2011 senior season, Jefferson is most remembered for his role in a brawl at Shady’s Bar before the start of last season, which prompted an indefinite suspension and felony charges for both him and linebacker Josh Johns.
Jefferson was reinstated in September 2011 after his charges were reduced to a misdemeanor, but he remained a hot topic throughout the season as he took the reins at quarterback from Jarrett Lee.
Lance Unglesby, an associate attorney in Jefferson’s bar fight case, said he found it difficult to comprehend Thursday’s charges.
“Based on the amount of time I’ve spent with [Jefferson], I find it hard to believe,” Unglesby said. “Based on the Jordan Jefferson I know, I find it hard to believe.”
Thursday’s arrests weren’t meant to send a message, according to Kelly, but he reiterated BRPD’s mission after the four were transported.
“It really doesn’t matter who you are or what your status is, we’re going to try to treat everybody equally as far as applying the law,” Kelly said. “In this case we had people violating the law and we took the appropriate action.”
Sports writers Chris Abshire and Alex Cassara contributed to this report.