Orioles Pitcher Arrested
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Doug Johns was arrested Friday on a charge of driving under the influence of marijuana after blocking morning traffic at an Interstate highway toll plaza.
The arrest was the second for Johns on drug charges since April.
The 31-year-old Johns was arrested around 9:40 a.m. near the Francis Scott Key Bridge toll plaza on Interstate 695, southeast of Baltimore.
Johns pulled up to the toll plaza and told an attendant he didn't have the dollar toll, according to Maryland Transportation Authority spokeswoman Lori Vidil. The attendant asked Johns to pull over and wait for an officer to give him a form that would allow him to pay the fee later.
Johns pulled over, Vidil said, but stopped before pulling clear of all of the lanes of traffic. He was blocking traffic when an officer approached, she said.
The officer told Johns to move out of the roadway. He complied, but the officer noticed the smell of alcohol and asked Johns to submit to a field sobriety test, Vidil said.
Johns refused the request, as well as a similar request from another officer. He was then arrested and given a breath-alcohol exam, which came up negative for alcohol.
A police drug recognition expert evaluated Johns and said he appeared to be under the influence of cannabis, the active ingredient in marijuana, Vidil said.
Johns also refused a blood test, she said.
After several hours in custody, Johns was released to the custody of his attorney.
Transportation Authority police charged him with driving under the influence and with obstructing free passage of the roadway. He faces a 120-day suspension of his drivers license and a $40 fine. Johns signed a statement of charges, but it doesn't acknowledge that he was driving under the influence, Vidil said.
Johns was arrested last April, hours after the Orioles' opening game of the 1999 season, after allegedly running a red light in Baltimore. In that incident, he was charged with marijuana possession, driving while intoxicated and failure to obey a traffic signal. He is awaiting a court hearing on those charges.
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