The following article was written by Rhonda Cook and published on December, 11 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute after a police officer said he smelled marijuana in the player’s SUV during a routine traffic stop Thursday night.
Babineaux, 28, was released from the Gwinnett County jail shortly after 5 a.m. Friday after paying a $5,700 bond, according to jail records.
The team said in a statement: “We are aware of the situation concerning Jonathan Babineaux and are in the process of gathering information. Because this is a legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Babineaux is set to meet with team officials Friday morning.
Babineaux was with another man, 25-year-old Aaron Robinson Minneapolis, who also was arrested. Robinson was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a felony.
Babinaeux and Robinson were stopped around 10:45 p.m. Thursday as they drove north on I-85 in Babineaux’s 2005 Cadillac Escalade EXT.
“It’s cut and dry,” Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. David Schiralli told the AJC. “He was stopped for a traffic violation.”
Schiralli said the officer searched the SUV because he smelled marijuana. The officer found three bags containing a total of 40 grams of marijuana, Schiralli said.
In addition to the possession charges, Babineaux is charged with having no tag light and driving without a license and with an expired tag. He also was charged with tinting his car windows too much.
The Falcons drafted Babineaux in the second round out of Iowa in 2005.
He signed a five-year, $25 million contract extension with the team in November 2008.
Babineaux has been arrested before in Gwinnett County. In 2007, he was charged with killing his girlfriend’s dog, a pit bull-mix , but the animal cruelty case was dismissed nine months later.
Investigators had verified that the dog had a history of unprovoked attacks and that a dog trainer had told Babineaux to spin the dog around by swinging the leash when it became aggressive, District Attorney Danny Porter said when he dropped the charge.
An autopsy ruled the dog, Kilo, died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Babineaux has denied intentionally hurting the dog. His lawyer said the dog was behaving aggressively that night, and Babineaux was trying to protect himself and his daughter, Jonea, who was 5 months old at the time.
Return to ajc.com for updates on this story.
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