Ex-NBA player Blount sentenced to 1 year in prison

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP)—Former NBA player and University of Cincinnati star Corie Blount was sentenced to one year in prison on Wednesday in a plea arrangement resulting from drug charges.

Blount, 40, had pleaded guilty in Butler County Common Pleas Court last month to two felony counts of mar1juana possession after prosecutors dropped two trafficking charges.

Blount was arrested Dec. 4 after sheriff’s deputies intercepted 11 pounds of mar1juana sent to him at a relative’s house. Investigators said they found another 18 pounds in a subsequent search of his home.

Although Judge Craig Hedric did not sentence Blount to the maximum 10 years in prison, he rejected Blount’s claim that the mar1juana was intended for personal use and to share with friends.

“Cheech and Chong would have had a hard time smoking that much,” Hedric told Blount.

Hedric fined Blount $10,000 and ordered him to surrender two vehicles and $34,000 in cash seized in the bust.

Blount was a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1993. In an 11-year NBA career, he also played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.

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