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Hawks' Mike Scott faces felony charges after arrest on pot, MDMA possession

Dan Devine
·Senior NBA writer
Mike Scott's mugshot. (Photo via Bucks County Sheriff's Office)
Mike Scott's mugshot. (Photo via Bucks County Sheriff's Office)

Atlanta Hawks forward Mike Scott will reportedly face felony drug charges after his arrest Thursday morning in Georgia for possession of marijuana and MDMA, commonly referred to as "Molly."

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Scott was the passenger in a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by his brother, Antonn Scott, that "failed to yield to officers on Interstate 85" in Banks County, Ga., according to Rob Moore of AccessWDUN.com:

Banks County Sheriff's Sgt. Carissa McFaddin said deputies attempted to stop the vehicle after noticing the driver following too close to other vehicles.

"As deputies attempted to make the traffic stop, the driver sped up to 98 mph and failed to stop," McFaddin said. "The driver continued for two miles and finally stopped near mile marker 156."

McFaddin said deputies made contact with the driver, 20-year-old Antonn Imhotep Scott of Acworth, and his passenger, James Michael Scott.

"The occupants advised that they did have marijuana in the vehicle," McFaddin said. "Deputies located over an ounce of Marijuana in the vehicle along with approximately 10.9 grams of MDMA, known as 'Molly'."

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From there, "the two were arrested and taken to the Banks County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Center," according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Mike Scott, 27, of Smyrna, was charged with felony possession of marijuana and possession of Schedule I drug.

Antonn Scott, 20 of Acworth, was charged with fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement officers, following too closely, felony possession of marijuana and possession of Schedule I drug.

According to a jail administrator in Banks County, Mike Scott's bond was set at $8,100, and Antonn Scott's was set at $9,300.

Both Scotts posted bond. Their court dates haven't yet been set.

Georgia statute identifies a Schedule I drug as one with "a high potential for abuse" that "has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" for which "there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision." Conviction on Schedule I possession charges "shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two years nor more than 15 years" for a first offense, and by a term "not less than five years nor more than 30 years" for second and subsequent offenses.

The Hawks released a brief statement on Thursday after news of Scott's arrest broke:

The Hawks selected Scott out of Virginia in the second round of the 2012 NBA draft. After a quiet rookie season in which he logged just 376 minutes under Larry Drew, the 6-foot-8 forward found more consistent playing time, a longer leash and a much greener light to fire from deep in new head coach Mike Budenholzer's spread-'em-out-and-bomb-away offense.

The emoji-tattooed forward became a fan favorite and a key scoring cog off the Atlanta bench, averaging 9.6 points in 18.5 minutes per game in Budenholzer's first season. The combination of defensive ineffectiveness and a late-season foot injury, however, would drop down in the rotation of a 2014-15 Hawks club that rolled to a franchise-record 60 wins and the No. 1 seed in the East before falling to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Scott's entering the second year of the three-year, $10 million contract he signed last summer. The third season is fully unguaranteed until July 10, 2016.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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