8 Arrested in Connection With Michael Phelps Bong Photo

[VapedG13]

8 people associated with the party the house and the photo have been arrested. A search warrant was served and the bong may now be in police custody. It didn't help that one of these geniuses tried to sell the bong on ebay

I bet this is going to be one of those Tommy Chong stories..you know the one...... 100 people indited an Tommy is the only one that did jail time.

8 people indited and who do you think is going loose the most...Micheal..... for what....getting high??? No being famous

Look how many people are on youtube videos about making hash...getting high....they arent prosecuted.....I bet if a celebrity showed us how to make hash it would be an entirely different story

Watch out Obama...they might have cameras in your bong room:hippy:

[JohnnyZ]

He is human too...

False. He eats 12,000 calories a day. He also swims way too much. I don't trust him.

[Reefer Rogue]

Afraid you're wrong. He's already admitted it was marijuana, and now that they have the bong, which if the idiot was selling it I don't think he'd be smart enough to get 100% of the residue out of it. I don't expect he'll get in a lot of shit, but his buddies sure will. Phelps can buy him a nice lawyer to pay off the courts.

When did he admit it was marijuana? I know he apologised for regrettable behavior or whatever he said. The picture doesn't show any, not even any smoke.. I saw a thread on a cops forum about this sherrif in NC and they basically laughed at him and said there was no way they would be able to convict him without actual evidence. If they have the bong, then they may charge someone with paraphenalia but i'm skeptical Phelps will receive any legal ramifications from this. If i'm wrong and i may be then that's my bad.

[FakeBoobsRule]

The cops have executed another search warrant on another house connected to the damn bong. Mike, next time smoke a joint and don't say what was in it. It might be easier to pull off than with a bong!


COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Sharp criticism Thursday from attorneys for two people arrested during the Michael Phelps drug investigation.

The suspects are among eight charged after Richland County began trying to determine whether Phelps broke the law by smoking pot at a party in Columbia.

It's a waterfront rental house in the Ballentine Cove community on Lake Murray. A house neighbors like Richard MacNett say has been the site of more than one large, loud party.

"Particularly that first Saturday night they were here in January, we could hear the reverberations from the drums, music and so on," MacNett said.

Richland County investigators confirm that assessment.

In a search warrant, officers say they visited the house Jan. 10 to check out an improperly parked car.

They found one of those parties underway and when officers went to the front door, they say they saw a man grab a bag of marijuana from a table and run to the rear of the house.

They arrested him.

The search warrant links at least two people living at the house on Ballentine Cove to the now infamous house on Blossom Street where investigators believe Olympic superstar Michael Phelps was photographed smoking marijuana. The warrant says both of those people were also seen leaving the Blossom Street house on Feb. 4 and when confronted, both admitted smoking pot.

A couple of days later, investigators went back to Ballentine Cove.

This time, they searched through garbage left at curbside and found paperwork that gave them names of one or more of the people targeted in this case.

Multiple sources identify one of the four people who live at the lake house, who is now charged with possession.

He is said to be 23-year-old professional poker player Zachary "Carter" King.


Poker Web sites say last September, King won more than a million dollars playing poker.

This afternoon two young men left the house while we were there with one partially hiding his face as their SUV passed our camera.

King has consulted with Columbia attorney Joe McCulloch, who used the word "pathetic" to describe the warrant used to search the lake house.

Attorney Dick Harpootlian tells us he represents another suspect, one of the men we saw in the SUV.

The former solicitor says the sheriff's department has gone overboard on the case.

"If the sheriff got a picture of Joe Blow today, a USC student smoking marijuana allegedly or apparently on a bong, would he begin an investigation to find out if that was marijuana or not? Search two houses, arrest eight people, grill them all about who that was and if they were smoking marijuana or not? I don't think so. I think there is a different standard and I think it ought to stop," Harpootlian said.

Harpootlian says the sheriff's department sent a dozen deputies to search that lake house with some going in with guns drawn.

The warrant notes that people engaged in illegal drug activity often have weapons on them or nearby.

Meanwhile, we've learned that King is scheduled to appear before the Dentsville magistrate March 26 to face a charge of simple possession.

WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | New details: Columbia attorney calls warrant in Phelps case "pathetic"

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When did he admit it was marijuana? I know he apologised for regrettable behavior or whatever he said. I saw a thread on a cops forum about this sherrif in NC and they basically laughed at him and said there was no way they would be able to convict him without actual evidence.

True and true again. He never said he smoked marijuana he said regrettable behavior.

As far as getting evidence, that's what this witch hunt is all about, not about metering out justice across the board but to get enough evidence to try to charge Phelps.The end goal of these arrests is to get someone to flip on Michael.

I'm surprised that the prosecutor for Richland county hasn't said something. If Lott does arrest Phelps, that really is the easy part. The buck stops with the prosecutor as it'll be his job to prove to a jury beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's guilty. Prosecutors don't like to take on frivolous cases or cases that can't be won. He might not want to be known as the prosecutor who dragged Michael Phelps through the mud. Many times the prosecution is much harder than the arrest and gathering of the evidence. The sheriff and all the resources he has available to him almost go unopposed at this point of the investigation but in court, the playing field is leveled if it comes to that point as Michael will have his lawyer with him fighting for him before, during, and after court. Whether it is uncovering evidence before any trial, making sure Michael and other people's Consitutional rights weren't violated, stop the trial by public media the sheriff is engaged in, and defending Michael, it's a lot different when it is the state of South Carolina on one side and the defense team for Michael Phelps on the other side.

Lawyers usually have completed a higher level of education than sheriffs. Most lawyers will have an undergraduate degree and their JD. Does this mean anything? Sometimes it does as a prosecutor who has spent 20+ years in school just to become a lawyer might not be willing to risk it all on one case. I'm not trying to crack on anyone who doesn't have a college degree but I've never understood how in this country someone can graduate high school and then go to police academy for 12-18 months and can then be given a gun and the power to take a life. In some weird way, prosecutors can be more level headed than a police chief or sheriff many times. Again, maybe it's because the buck stops with them.


There's a saying, you can indict a ham sandwich but that doesn't mean you're going to get a conviction.

Why anyone would want to bring down Phelps? Jealousy, ego, thirst for power, fame, throwing their authority around, not happy with their own life, take your pick.

No one cares about you Leon Lott and in a few weeks you will be forgotten and Michael Phelps will still have the gold, fame, star power, and his whole life still ahead of him. This country loves a comeback story and hard as Lott tries, he matters little in this world. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger and Phelps will grow from this and become even stronger.

The only person Lott is bringing down is himself and his own county and state. Last time I checked South Carolina is not a thriving economic area and I believe their unemployment rate is higher than most states in the U.S. right now. So instead of using star power (Phelps later went to a University of South Carolina football game and was introduced to the crowd during it and was graciously received) to help their state, this idiot is sending one cold invitation to stars and celebrities. Team this with a plane crash (mind you the plane really never left the ground and it was more like a high speed car accident) that killed 4 and almost killed Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and stars and celebrities are not going to want to go to South Carolina because either they die or get arrested.

I bet you if Michael Phelps were to go to another football game in South Carolina, the applause and cheers he'll receive will be greater than before.

[dragonrider]

I hope all this grandstanding BS comes back to bite this sheriff.

He seems like he is mostly out for publicity, but it could easily backfire. He is obviously wasting time and resources on this thing, and if I livied in that county, I would resent that --- especially if I was the victim of a REAL crime that didn't get the attention it deserved, while a dozen duputies spent their day tearing apart a house looking for a bong. Citizens of that county should ask themselves if they are getting what they are paying for from their sheriff. If they are happy to pay for their sheriff's department to spend its time chasing after pot-smoking olympic swimmers, then great. If not, they should kick this moron out on his ass.

[Dr.Chiefer]

Phelps has nothing to worry about. Even if he does get charged, it could only be some bullshit misdemeanor crime which in columbia is probably just a fine. Everyone already knows he smokes, he should become an advocate and say it helped him win the olympics.

[ILLNotSick]

The SHERIFF already said he's NOT being charged.
Stupid fuckers deserve to get caught. Hang out with a celeb, do something Illegal and THEN TAKE PICTURES. :asskick: