On Tuesday, Oct. 6, senior men’s basketball players Shaquille Johnson and Jason Pimentel were charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
The police were originally responding to a loud noise complaint at approximately 10:57 p.m. at an apartment off of West Third Street, according to Farmville Chief of Police Curtis Davis, not an on-campus or Longwood-managed residency.
While the officers investigated the complaint, they “detected an odor of burnt marijuana” then proceeded to obtain a search warrant. The execution of the search warrant led to the charges.
According to Associate Dean of Conduct and Integrity Jen Fraley, anyone, whether part of the university or not, can file charges with Longwood’s Office of Student Conduct and Integrity. This includes the Farmville Police department.
Therefore, Johnson and Pimentel can potentially face charges in Prince Edward County District Court and in a Conduct Board-run hearing body.
If they have charges filed with the school, they will be charged for “the possession, use, and/or distribution of illegal drugs” which is “strictly prohibited,” according to the Longwood Student Handbook.
This was not Johnson’s first possession of marijuana charge.
The All-Big South Preseason pick first attended and played for Auburn University his freshman year, becoming a standout andstarting 21 games. However, the summer prior to his sophomore year saw his arrest for possession of marijuana during a traffic stop.
The arrest led to his dismissal from the program 12 hours later.
Aside from his arrest in Alabama, both Johnson and Pimentel have gotten into legal trouble with the Prince Edward Country court system within the past year and a half at Longwood. Neither have had sentences resulting from their charges.
Johnson was charged with the Class 3 felony of malicious wounding Oct. 27, 2014 following an alleged fight against a Hampden-Sydney College student at a party. The case ended as nolle prosequi, translating to “we shall not prosecute,” because the alleged victim did not appear in court therefore the trial could not continue.
Pimentel was more recently found not guilty of a decreased battery charge in the Prince Edward Circuit Court four days prior to acquiring the possession of marijuana charge. He had appealed the case after the Prince Edward County District Court level found him guilty of sexual battery.
Last year, Longwood lowered the minimum sanction of marijuana possession, distribution, and paraphernalia to one calendar year of disciplinary probation for first offenders.
However, the sanction given in the cases can be affected by their previous disciplinary record. The minimum sanction is considered a “baseline,” while if there are multiple charges or previous record history then those can factor into the sanction given as well, said Fraley.
The student’s disciplinary history can only be from a student’s time at Longwood.
“They were not a student of ours,” said Fraley.
Therefore, Johnson’s previous possession of marijuana charges from Auburn wouldn’t influence any decision made by Longwood in this circumstance.
Pimentel was also dismissed from his previous basketball program at Old Dominion University for “cumulative reasons,” according to his previous coach. Pimentel was academically eligible for school and NCAA transfer at the time of his dismissal.
Last Friday, Oct. 9, three days after the possession of marijuana charges occurred, Longwood Athletics suspended senior men’s basketball players Shaquille Johnson and Jason Pimentel for not meeting the department’s standards for student-athletes, according to their press release that day.
The release did not provide a specific standard unmet by the two players or a specific incident causing the suspension.
Both students remain on the online men's basketball roster listed on the Longwood athletics official website.
Their preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 23, six games into the men’s basketball season.
