Ziggy
05-12-2008, 10:09 AM
Thomas had faith he'd be cleared
Charge dropped, he 'can't wait' for upcoming camps
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Marcus Thomas maintained Sunday that he always believed he would be exonerated of a drug- possession charge stemming from a late-night incident March 1.
It was no less a relief when the Broncos defensive tackle officially was notified late last week that authorities in Clay County, Fla., had decided not to press charges relating to the traffic stop that ensnared a high school buddy from whom he was hitching a ride after a night out.
Bryce Carter, his longtime friend from Jacksonville, Fla., still faces a felony cocaine possession count. Carter is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. But the case against Thomas officially is closed, county criminal records confirm.
"I'm relieved," Thomas said in his first public comments since the arrest. "I shouldn't have gotten arrested initially, but the officers were just doing their job. And I had to let it play out. But right now, I'm just happy the coaches stuck with me the whole time."
Thomas has sequestered himself in Denver since a few days after the traffic stop. He has been going through the team's offseason strength and conditioning program while the legal wrangling was been hashed out in his hometown. He remained confident there would be a positive outcome but was troubled by the fact his name and the organization were in the news in a negative light.
"I'm just glad it didn't go all the way to camp," he said. "I didn't want any distractions. This is the first time I've been able to be here in the offseason, and I've been working really hard."
Thomas was drafted in 2007 by Denver despite two positive drug tests for marijuana at the University of Florida, so he knew he already was on a short leash when his arrest occurred.
Thus, while he was confident he "couldn't possibly get in trouble" this time because he had "nothing to do with" the drugs and a gun found in Carter's truck, that historical backdrop admittedly created some anxiety.
Thomas remembered thinking while police searched Carter's truck that there was no way he'd be implicated.
He recalled being more concerned about finding another ride home, since he wasn't going to drive himself for fear he had had too much to drink.
But Thomas ended up spending a night in jail anyway.
A short time later, Carter reportedly admitted that a small bag of cocaine in the car was his, helping Thomas' cause.
"I just know I can't continue to hang out with the same people I hung with back in high school," Thomas said. "And I just have to stay out of Jacksonville, really."
Thomas called coach Mike Shanahan right after the episode and explained he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thomas quickly submitted to drug testing in a further attempt to prove his innocence.
Shanahan publicly supported Thomas in March and again in April, with the coach saying if he "didn't have a very good gut about the guy, he wouldn't be with our organization."
"As soon as I talked to Shanahan and Shanahan said, 'If you're innocent, we're with you 100 percent and we'll get through this together,' I was relieved," Thomas said.
If there was one mistake Thomas, in hindsight, said he made, it's that he probably shouldn't have gotten in the car with Carter, since he suspected that Carter, too, might have been intoxicated.
Still, Thomas was trying to avoid driving and risking a drunken-driving arrest.
"I felt I was trying to do the right thing," he said.
Now that Thomas has been cleared, he can go about trying to be an integral part of a needed front-four turnaround for the Broncos.
The five-game starter as a rookie could be aligned alongside newcomer Dewayne Robertson on a more permanent basis with the first unit in 2008.
So his judicial clearance is just as important to the team's fortunes as his own.
"I can't wait," Thomas said of the upcoming minicamps. "Last year, I didn't even play half a year of football because I was suspended from Florida. And I wasn't really working out because I didn't even plan on getting drafted. But I feel really confident coming into this season. I'm a lot stronger, well-conditioned. I'm pretty much ready to show what I've got going on now."
Sounds to me like he's trying hard to grow up, and leave the bad influences in his life behind. Very encouraging article.
Charge dropped, he 'can't wait' for upcoming camps
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Marcus Thomas maintained Sunday that he always believed he would be exonerated of a drug- possession charge stemming from a late-night incident March 1.
It was no less a relief when the Broncos defensive tackle officially was notified late last week that authorities in Clay County, Fla., had decided not to press charges relating to the traffic stop that ensnared a high school buddy from whom he was hitching a ride after a night out.
Bryce Carter, his longtime friend from Jacksonville, Fla., still faces a felony cocaine possession count. Carter is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. But the case against Thomas officially is closed, county criminal records confirm.
"I'm relieved," Thomas said in his first public comments since the arrest. "I shouldn't have gotten arrested initially, but the officers were just doing their job. And I had to let it play out. But right now, I'm just happy the coaches stuck with me the whole time."
Thomas has sequestered himself in Denver since a few days after the traffic stop. He has been going through the team's offseason strength and conditioning program while the legal wrangling was been hashed out in his hometown. He remained confident there would be a positive outcome but was troubled by the fact his name and the organization were in the news in a negative light.
"I'm just glad it didn't go all the way to camp," he said. "I didn't want any distractions. This is the first time I've been able to be here in the offseason, and I've been working really hard."
Thomas was drafted in 2007 by Denver despite two positive drug tests for marijuana at the University of Florida, so he knew he already was on a short leash when his arrest occurred.
Thus, while he was confident he "couldn't possibly get in trouble" this time because he had "nothing to do with" the drugs and a gun found in Carter's truck, that historical backdrop admittedly created some anxiety.
Thomas remembered thinking while police searched Carter's truck that there was no way he'd be implicated.
He recalled being more concerned about finding another ride home, since he wasn't going to drive himself for fear he had had too much to drink.
But Thomas ended up spending a night in jail anyway.
A short time later, Carter reportedly admitted that a small bag of cocaine in the car was his, helping Thomas' cause.
"I just know I can't continue to hang out with the same people I hung with back in high school," Thomas said. "And I just have to stay out of Jacksonville, really."
Thomas called coach Mike Shanahan right after the episode and explained he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thomas quickly submitted to drug testing in a further attempt to prove his innocence.
Shanahan publicly supported Thomas in March and again in April, with the coach saying if he "didn't have a very good gut about the guy, he wouldn't be with our organization."
"As soon as I talked to Shanahan and Shanahan said, 'If you're innocent, we're with you 100 percent and we'll get through this together,' I was relieved," Thomas said.
If there was one mistake Thomas, in hindsight, said he made, it's that he probably shouldn't have gotten in the car with Carter, since he suspected that Carter, too, might have been intoxicated.
Still, Thomas was trying to avoid driving and risking a drunken-driving arrest.
"I felt I was trying to do the right thing," he said.
Now that Thomas has been cleared, he can go about trying to be an integral part of a needed front-four turnaround for the Broncos.
The five-game starter as a rookie could be aligned alongside newcomer Dewayne Robertson on a more permanent basis with the first unit in 2008.
So his judicial clearance is just as important to the team's fortunes as his own.
"I can't wait," Thomas said of the upcoming minicamps. "Last year, I didn't even play half a year of football because I was suspended from Florida. And I wasn't really working out because I didn't even plan on getting drafted. But I feel really confident coming into this season. I'm a lot stronger, well-conditioned. I'm pretty much ready to show what I've got going on now."
Sounds to me like he's trying hard to grow up, and leave the bad influences in his life behind. Very encouraging article.