Stoudamire booked on charge

Trail Blazers guard accused of marijuana possession

? Portland Trail Blazers guard Damon Stoudamire was booked and released from jail early Wednesday on a felony charge of marijuana possession.

Stoudamire posted the required 10 percent of his $50,000 bail and went home about 2 a.m. Reporters and camera crews were waiting for him when he arrived at the Clackamas County Jail shortly after midnight. He was accompanied by his father Willie and his attorney.

Wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, Stoudamire was fingerprinted and had his mug shot taken.

Stoudamire pleaded innocent Tuesday to the charge of possession of a controlled substance, and a trial date of Oct. 1 was set by Circuit Judge John Lowe.

A police officer was responding to a burglar alarm at Stoudamire’s home in suburban Lake Oswego on Feb. 23 when he found the front door ajar. The officer called for backup and the two officers entered the home. No one was inside, but they found the marijuana and confiscated it.

Stoudamire’s lawyer, Stephen Houze, said he intends to challenge the legality of the search. A state appellate judge last week threw out a similar case, in which police entered a man’s house through the open front door and found a marijuana-growing operation.

“We intend to fight this all the way,” Houze said Tuesday.

The same marijuana charge had been filed against Stoudamire’s father, but Deputy District Attorney Steven Griffin said the charge had been dropped for lack of evidence.