Lincecum Popped For Marijuana Charge

Sports News - November 6th, 2009 - Written by John

San Francisco Giants ace, and defending Cy Young Winner, Tim Lincecum was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession the day before Halloween, stemming from a traffic stop in Washington.

He is the likely repeat champion for the award, but will now have to make an appearance in court after he was pulled over for speeding on Interstate 5 on October 30th. In the days ensuing, the matter was relatively private, but was leaked by the a Vancouver newspaper, The Columbian, on Thursday.

Upon reaching Lincecum's car, a 2006 Mercedes, officers reportedly smelled marijuana right away. When officers confronted the pitcher about it, he turned over a pipe filled with some of the substance and instantly submitted to their requests. He had a total of 3.3 grams in his car, Washington State Patrol spokesman Steve Schatzel said.

"It's not really out of the ordinary. It happens every day," Schatzel said. "It was about the size of a thumb, the whole thumb."

Police consider anything over 40 grams to be for personal use.

Lincecum will not face jail time, but could face $622 in fines for possession, plus the speeding ticket. His annual salary is $650,000. He entered a not guilty plea on Monday, per Clark County District Court. His attorney will have to attend a pretrial conference on November 23rd, and Lincecum himself will appear in court on December 22nd.

Lincecum was, again, one of the league's premier pitchers on 2009, striking out 261 batters in 225 1/3 innings and being selected to start for the National League in the All-Star Game. He has six-career complete games. His freakish delivery, jerking backwards before looping his arm over his head upon delivery, has enabled him to become a phenomenon in the league. He also keeps a younger, child-like demeanor that has appealed to younger fans. He was a first-round pick out of Washington in 2006.

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