Eagles coach's son admits smuggling drugs into jail
By MARYCLAIRE DALE,
AP Sports
Posted: 2008-05-07 17:22:01
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid's son was sent to
state prison after admitting he smuggled 89 prescription pills into a county
jail.
Garrett Reid pleaded guilty to drug smuggling charges on Wednesday and faces
a minimum of two years in state prison.
The 25-year-old Reid, however, could be released earlier to a less
restrictive facility if he is accepted into a drug-treatment program,
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said.
Reid is already serving time in the county jail for a heroin-fueled car
crash that injured a motorist. Jail officials say he smuggled the pills inside
when he surrendered last fall, just before his guilty plea to crash-related
charges.
"While we understand that some defendants, this one in particular, have
substance-abuse issues, he still committed a very serious offense," Ferman
said. "We need to take a very hard line on crimes like this to make sure that
prison authorities can maintain order."
Reid once told probation officers that he was an addict who had gotten a
thrill selling drugs in inner-city Philadelphia.
He entered his plea Wednesday before Judge Steven O'Neill, who last year
questioned Andy and Tammy Reid's supervision and compared their home to a
"drug emporium."
Another son, Britt Reid, 23, is in a county drug-court program after
pleading guilty that same day to separate drug and gun charges.
The Reids later spoke publicly of their many attempts to get their sons in
treatment, and the toll it had taken on their family. They have three other
children.
Garrett Reid's formal sentencing on the smuggling charge is on hold while he
is considered for the treatment program. He is serving a sentence of up to 23
months on the earlier charges.
Defense lawyer Timothy Woodward did not return phone calls Wednesday seeking
comment.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
05/07/08 16:21 CDT