WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics center Robert Parish pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor marijuana possession and was placed on six months unsupervised probation.
After Parish waived his right to a jury trial, Waltham District Court Judge Paul Cavanaugh imposed the minimum penalty and continued the case without finding until July 29. Parish was also ordered to pay $30 in court fees.
'I hope you put this behind you,' Cavanaugh told Parish. 'And you restore the confidence and trust of the people of Boston.'
Prosecutor Kurt Schwartz, who had recommended the minimum sentence, said he was satified with the resolution of the case.
'He received the statutory sentence. Leave it to everybody else to decide what that does for society,' Schwartz said. 'But I think Mr. Parish will tell you that it was not easy going through what he went through and that he has paid a price.'
Parish, who at 39 is the oldest player in the NBA and a nine-time all star, had no comment after the appearance. His attorney, Harry Mannion, said Parish 'accepted his responsibility in this matter and he made apologies to the fans, to his teammates, to the NBA. And he also made the apology to himself that this will not be repeated.'
In early February a drug-sniffing dog discovered a package addressed to Parish containing 2 ounces of marijuana during a routine inspection by federal agents in San Francisco, officials said. The unopened package was flown to Massachusetts where another drug-sniffing police dog confirmed the contents before a warrant was obtained to open it.
On Feb. 11 the package was resealed and delivered by an undercover state police officer to Heather Graves, a house guest at Parish's home in the exclusive Boston suburb of Weston. When police returned 10 minutes later with a search warrant, they found the package along with another three ounces of marijuana. Both Parish and Graves, 24, were charged with possession of marijuana.
Following his arrest Parish cooperated with police, admitted that the marijuana was for his personal use and apologized to his fans, fellow players and the Celtic organization.
Parish is in his 13th season with the Celtics after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Golden State Warriors. Parish averages 11.9 points and 9.5 rebounds this season. For his career, he averages 16.2 points and 10.1 rebounds.
