HAMILTON – Former NBA player and University of Cincinnati basketball star Corie Blount was sentenced to a year in prison today on drug possession charges after getting caught last year with about 29 pounds of marijuana.
Blount also was fined $10,000 in addition to giving up two vehicles and $34,000 in cash that were seized in the bust. When he gets out of prison, Blount also must provide 250 hours of community service and will have his driver's license suspended for three years.
Blount was sentenced today by Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Craig Hedric. He could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
While not giving Blount the maximum sentence, Hedric rejected Blount's claims that the marijuana was intended for personal use and to share with friends at a planned party.
"Cheech and Chong would have had a hard time smoking that much," Hedric told Blount.
Blount, 40, of Liberty Township, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of possession of marijuana. In exchange, two charges of marijuana trafficking were dismissed.
Blount was taken into custody Dec. 4 when authorities intercepted 11 pounds of marijuana to a Liberty Township home he owns and where his grandmother lives. Authorities discovered 18 more pounds of pot at his nearby home.
The 29 pounds had a street value of about $52,200.
Blount’s lawyer, Anthony VanNoy of Dayton, said last month his client was not dealing drugs and only used marijuana to “self-medicate” because he suffered depression. A “so-called” friend of Blount’s sent him the “low-grade” marijuana, according to VanNoy.
Blount is no longer using the drug and is undergoing treatment for depression, he said.
Blount had an 11-year career in the NBA and was the starting center on University of Cincinnati teams that reached the Final Four in 1992 and Elite Eight in 1993.
