Shawne Williams – Memphis Flyer

From Indystar.com: [Former University of Memphis star] Shawne Williams will face just three traffic-related charges from his arrest earlier this week, but Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird isn’t waiting to hear a verdict.

In a move intended to send a message to players and fans that the franchise no longer will tolerate off-court missteps, Bird suspended the second-year forward for three games after police said they found marijuana and a gun in Williams’ sport utility vehicle.

Williams’ arrest marked the third time in 11 months that Pacers players have dealt with legal matters.
“We are making it clear to our players and our fans that this franchise is going in a different direction,” Bird said in a statement. “Shawne put himself in a position that placed the franchise in a poor light. He’s a good kid who made a bad decision. Our franchise is in a position now where the responsibilities, conduct and standards of the players off the court weigh as heavily as they do on the court.”

Read the rest of the IndyStar story.

Indiana Pacers forward and former University of Memphis star Shawne Williams was arrested today on charges of marijuana possession and driving without a license. Williams, who was driving an SUV, was pulled over for making an illegal lane change.

The police report states Williams was being held at the Marion County Jail on charges of possession of marijuana, driving without a license, driving with an expired license plate, and failure to signal a lane change.

At 12:45 a.m., police pulled over a 2007 black Cadillac with an expired Tennessee license plate after it committed a traffic infraction on Martin Luther King Drive.

Williams was accompanied by two other individuals. One of them, 32-year-old Roderick Helton of Memphis, was carrying a Smith & Wesson 9-mm handgun that had been reported stolen in Collierville. He was also arrested for illegal possession of a handgun.

The third passenger was Roosevelt Rollins, 21, also of Memphis, who was detained on charges of marijuana possession after he admitted that the “blunt” found in the vehicle’s ashtray was his.

“The guy in the front passenger seat, Mr. Rollins, said the marijuana was his and Mr. Williams denied knowledge of the marijuana even being in his car even though you could obviously smell the odor of burnt marijuana,” Sgt. Matthew Mount, a city police spokesman, said.

The 6-foot-9 Williams, was drafted in the first round in 2006. He averaged 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 46 games last season for the Pacers.