Some people never learn, and apparently Shadrach Thornton is one of them. After running afoul of the law last spring and being suspended from the NC State football team for a time because of it, Thornton is once again the subject of an assault investigation and has been charged with possession of marijuana according to WRAL.
Detectives said they went to Thornton’s apartment Wednesday to follow up on a sexual battery case that was reported Monday to the NCSU Police Department. Detectives knocked on Thornton’s door at College Inn apartments, at 2717 Western Blvd., in Raleigh, and smelled marijuana, according to the warrant.
Marchez Coates, also an NC State football player, answered the door and gave the two detectives permission to enter the apartment where they found “several marijuana stems and a partial marijuana cigarette lying on the kitchen table,” the warrant stated.
Thornton has not been charged in the sexual battery investigation but does face misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
While it is far too soon to presume guilt or innocence regarding the sexual assault investigation, it is somewhat telling that Thornton would have illegal drugs in his room. While many feel that marijuana should be legalized and that it is not harmful, it is nonetheless illegal and Thornton must surely have known he was just off being on thin ice as far as head coach Dave Doeren and NC State football is concerned. It would not be at all surprising if this latest incident costs him his scholarship and place on the team, given that this is the second time he has been criminally charged in the same year.