{"id":416726,"date":"2011-05-03T23:20:21","date_gmt":"2011-05-03T23:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/03\/attorney-chris-simms-friend-smoked-pot-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-05-03T23:20:21","modified_gmt":"2011-05-03T23:20:21","slug":"attorney-chris-simms-friend-smoked-pot-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/03\/attorney-chris-simms-friend-smoked-pot-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Attorney: Chris Simms’ friend smoked pot (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW YORK (AP)\u2014Tennessee Titans<\/a> backup quarterback Chris Simms<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> wasn\u2019t high, but a friend\u2019s marijuana smoking got the player arrested on drugged-driving charges, the friend told a jury Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Charles Granatell\u2014a former Bryant University quarterback\u2014said he was entirely responsible for the pot odor that later prompted an officer to arrest Simms. He said he\u2019d never seen Simms use the drug during the roughly 12 years they\u2019ve known each other.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Granatell said Simms was none too pleased at the scent in his SUV when he came back from a 10-minute stop at a party: \u201cDid you guys smoke in here?\u201d he asked, according to Granatell.<\/p>\n

Simms, the 30-year-old son of former New York Giants<\/a> quarterback Phil Simms, has pleaded not guilty in the misdemeanor case.<\/p>\n

A police officer told jurors Simms made a tire-squealing turn just before a police sobriety checkpoint in lower Manhattan around 1 a.m. July 1. With a reek of marijuana coming from his Mercedes-Benz SUV, a \u201czombie\u201d-like Simms slurred his words, walked unsteadily and said there wasn\u2019t any marijuana left in the car because \u201che smoked it all in the car,\u201d the officer testified Monday.<\/p>\n

An alcohol breath test came back negative, and Simms declined a urine test that could have shown drug use, if any.<\/p>\n

Simms\u2019 lawyer says the officer misunderstood the quarterback saying \u201cthe guy in the back seat smoked marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granatell was in the back seat with another Simms friend after going out to dinner with Simms and his wife, Danielle. Granatell said he\u2019d smoked pot around 10 a.m. that morning and again while Simms was out of the car to stop by friend Noel Ashman\u2019s 40th birthday bash between dinner and dessert at a trendy cafe.<\/p>\n

Simms didn\u2019t smoke anything at the party, and \u201che was very, very lucid. We had a long conversation, actually,\u201d Ashman, a party promoter who has owned several New York nightspots, told jurors Tuesday.<\/p>\n

After Simms returned from wishing Ashman a happy birthday, his group made a roughly 20-minute stop for dessert, got back on the road and was pulled over, Granatell said.<\/p>\n

Through questioning, Manhattan assistant district attorney Alexandra Glazer pointed out that Granatell hadn\u2019t told police at the time that Granatell had been the one smoking pot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t get the chance to. \u2026 (Simms\u2019 arrest) happened so fast,\u201d Granatell said. \u201cGo back and change it\u2014I would if I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granatell, now a marketing manager for a cosmetics-ingredient company, declined to comment after his testimony.<\/p>\n

Simms\u2019 wife didn\u2019t testify. The judge decided jurors will be told that they can, but don\u2019t have to, infer that her testimony wouldn\u2019t have helped her husband\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n

Defense lawyer attorney Harvey A. Steinberg said Danielle Simms didn\u2019t testify because she didn\u2019t want the publicity or \u201cto have to be cross-examined about things that are sacred to the marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York law affords husbands and wives the so-called spousal privilege of declining to testify about confidential communications between them. But the judge said the presence of the Simmses\u2019 friends made their communications surrounding his arrest non-confidential.<\/p>\n

Chris Simms could face up to a year in jail if convicted in the misdemeanor case. In January, he turned down an offer to avoid any jail time by pleading guilty to driving while impaired, a non-criminal violation. His punishment would have included a $500 fine and five days of community service.<\/p>\n

Besides the legal consequences, a conviction or any guilty plea that entailed admitting smoking marijuana could subject Simms to a suspension under NFL policies.<\/p>\n

Simms started his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> in 2003. He has a 7-9 record in his 16 NFL career starts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

View article:
\nAttorney: Chris Simms’ friend smoked pot (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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