Knicks' Wilson Chandler Busted With Pot: Cops

Knicks' forward Wilson Chandler got some court time last night, but not the kind he was looking for.

The 23-year-old basketball player got caught with what cops described as a "small amount of weed" while driving in Queens late Tuesday, the Queens district attorney's office said today.

Cops pulled Chandler over at about 11:15 p.m. because he was driving a 2010 Mercedes Benz with the headlights off, authorities said. When the officers approached the car, they smelled marijuana, police said. A passenger in the front seat, Lamonte Yarbrough, admitted to the officers he had been smoking pot, police said.

The officers recovered a plastic bag of marijuana from the console inside the car and five other small plastic bags from the trunk, weighing under 2 ounces in total, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

Chandler and Yarbrough, 22, were both charged with criminal possession of marijuana -- a misdemeanor. They were issued desk appearance tickets and are due in court July 1. They were not taken into police custody.

"We have spoken to Wilson regarding last night's incident and will not be commenting at this time," the team said in a statement.

It wasn't clear whether the men, both from Benton Harbor, Mich., had attorneys. There was no answer to a call to Yarbrough's address in Michigan.

The 6'8" pro out of DePaul University, one of only four players under contract with the Knicks, missed the last month of the season due to a groin injury. He averaged 15.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 35.7 minutes per game this year. He's had surgery on an ankle surgery and a sports hernia since the season ended.

The Knicks exercised their fourth-year option on the guard/forward in October. They had selected him in the first round of the 2007 draft.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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