Former Raiders QB Todd Marinovich found naked, booked for pot

ByESPN.com news services ESPN logo
Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Former Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich was found naked with marijuana in a residential area of Irvine, California, police said Monday.



The 47-year-old Marinovich was cited for trespassing, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana, Irvine police commander Mike Hallinan told the Orange County Register on Monday.



Hallinan said that Marinovich, an Irvine resident, was in a backyard of a home and had been seen naked on a neighborhood jogging path.



"He was carrying the items in a brown bag," Hallinan said.



Marinovich's problems with drugs have been well-documented since rising to stardom as a freshman USC quarterback in the 1989 season, culminating with a Trojans victory in the Rose Bowl over Michigan.



He was booked for cocaine possession a month after the 1990 Sun Bowl and entered the NFL draft, where he was drafted in the first round by the then-Los Angeles Raiders.



He was released by the Raiders after two seasons for repeated drug use, cementing his legacy as one of the biggest NFL busts in history.



According to the Orange County Register, Marinovich's rap sheet includes pleading guilty in 1997 to felony charges for cultivating marijuana.



In 2000, he attempted to revive his career with the Los Angeles Avengers arena football team, but was arrested on suspicion of heroin possession and cut eight months later.



In 2005, he was charged again with drug possession. Two years later, Marinovich was booked with felony possession of a controlled substance, unauthorized possession of a hypodermic needle and resisting arrest.



In recent years, he has focused on his arts career.

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