GLEN ARDEN, Md. -- John Turner, a starting power forward whose Georgetown basketball scholarship was revoked last month, was arrested at an outdoor basketball court and charged with trying to distribute crack cocaine, police said Tuesday.
Turner and four others were arrested Monday evening at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center in Glen Arden, Md., where Turner lives, said Maryland National Capital Park Police Lt. Robert Hisamoto.
Turner, 21, who started 27 games for the Big East conference champion Hoyas during the 1988-89 season, had his scholarship withdrawn by Coach John Thompson last month after revelations surfaced that Turner had been associating with a reputed drug kingpin.
Turner and three other adults and a juvenile allegedly were trying to sell 51 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of $10,400, Hisamoto said. The cocaine was found in four large chunks and 25 individual packages, Hisamoto said.
Turner was arrested after two officers on a routine patrol spotted a group of people congregated on the outdoor basketball courts in the suburban Washington recreation center.
'It was constructive possession,' Hisamoto said. 'They were there and the drugs were found right at their feet.'
The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Turner averaged 6.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season for Georgetown. He was the team's second leading rebounder behind freshman center Alonzo Mourning.
Turner spent Monday night at the Hyattsville detention center, and was released Tuesday on $30,000 bond after being charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia. If convicted, Turner could face a possible 10-year prison term on the drug possession charge.
Turner left Georgetown shortly after Thompson said on ABC's Nightline that he had learned Turner and Mourning had fraternized with Rayful Edmond III, the alleged leader of the city's most notorious cocaine ring.
Edmond is in the D.C. Jail awaiting trial on an assortment of drug trafficking and murder charges.
Thompson had said Turner withdrew for unspecified academic reasons. But The Washington Times, citing sources, reported in early June that Thompson had forced Turner out after he failed to heed a warning to stop associating with Edmond.
Turner's family recently retained a pair of lawyers, and Georgetown was reviewing Thompson's decision not to renew Turner's scholarship.
Thompson was unavailable for comment, and a school spokesman said there would be no comment on the arrest.
Turner transferred to Georgetown from Allegany Community College, where he was one of the most highly coveted junior college players in the nation.
He played in 32 games for Georgetown. Turner graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt in 1987.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Turner -- using an assumed name -- has been playing in a summer league not sanctioned by the NCAA, a situation which leaves Turner's eligibility for further NCAA Division I or Division II basketball competition in doubt.
Turner, who would have been entering his junior year at Georgetown, has two years of eligibility remaining.
Turner reportedly has been playing basketball for Madness Connection of the NBA Say-No-To-Drugs Pro-Am League, apparently under the pseudonym John Taylor.
Also charged Monday with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia were Rodney Lopaze Hart, 18, of Washington, who was jailed without bond; Kurt Armstrong, 23, of Glen Arden, whose bond was set at $30,000; Larry Lee Riley, 22, of Glen Arden, jailed on $25,000 bond; and a 17-year-old male juvenile from Glen Arden, whose name was not released.
