Prized LSU baseball recruit from Georgia arrested on drug trafficking, gun charges
Georgia authorities arrested LSU baseball signee Dylan Williams among seven men booked on drug and gun charges, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate.
Williams, 18, faces charges of possession with intent to distribute a Schedule 1 substance (Ecstasy) and possession of a firearm, according to the report (h/t AJC). He remained in jail as of Wednesday night, the local sheriff's office told the publication.
After speaking with Williams' father following the arrest, LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri told The Advocate, Perfect Game USA's 2013 First Team All-Southeast Region selection “happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“It doesn’t appear to me that the boy has done anything he should be ashamed of,” Mainieri added. “I hope in the end it’s proven that he didn’t do anything wrong.”
According to neworleans-criminal-defense.com, ecstasy distribution convictions carry a sentence of "imprisonment at hard labor for 5-30 years" -- including five years without parole, probation or a suspended sentence -- as well as a fine up to $50,000.
A 6-foot-4, 195-pound right-handed pitcher, Williams led Georgia's Class AAAA in strikeouts with 106 in 61 innings for Cartersville (Ga.) Cass High this spring. He owned a 7-2 record with a 1.14 ERA in 11 appearances as a senior for the Colonels.
“Dylan has the size and arm strength to emerge as a top of the rotation guy for us throughout his career," Mainieri said in July, when Williams' bio appeared on the LSU baseball site. "Although he is a little raw right now, we think Alan Dunn will be able to clean up his mechanics and work diligently with him to harness his full potential. Any time you have a big, young, right-hander coming in and touching 92 mph on the radar gun, you have to feel good about the possibility of him becoming a force.”
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