Packers' Sam Shields charged with marijuana possession

GREEN BAY — Green Bay Packers cornerback Sam Shields has become the team's second player known to be charged this season with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Shields, 29, was charged in Brown County Circuit Court this week with possession of marijuana and of drug paraphernalia, charges stemming from an Oct. 19 incident. He is scheduled for a plea/sentencing hearing April 24.

Read the criminal complaint

Investigators from the Brown County Task Force went to Shields' Ashwaubenon apartment Oct. 19 to investigate suspected delivery of marijuana through the mail, according to a criminal complaint. When an agent rang the doorbell, Shields answered the door while smoking a blunt, a marijuana-laced cigar, and had another in his pocket, the complaint says.

Shields showed the agent a cupboard containing jars of pot and to a cabinet with additional pot, including candy and muffins that contained edible marijuana, the complaint says. In the garage, the agent found a box, with no address label, that had come by priority mail Sept 12 from Parker, Colorado.

RELATED: Packers' Geronimo Allison faces marijuana charge

RELATED:Packers safeties coach charged with drunken driving

Shields told the agent the marijuana belonged to another man, Justin J. Hamilton, 31, of Sarasota, Fla., who was also at the apartment at the time, according to the complaint. Hamilton also was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Shields faces up to six months in jail on the marijuana charge and an additional 30 days in jail for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Shields suffered a concussion during the first game of the Packers season. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve and is out for the season.

His arrest follows the recent filing of a marijuana possession charge against wide receiver Geronimo Allison, 22, who will have his first appearance in Manitowoc County Circuit Court Jan. 23, based on a September arrest. Allison has already paid a $200 fine for speeding in the same incident, court records indicate.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said the team was made aware of Shields' legal situation shortly after it occurred.

Meanwhile, Packers safeties coach Darren Perry is scheduled for a Feb. 23 first appearance in Brown County Circuit Court for first-offense drunken driving.

Perry, 48, also is charged with refusing to take a breathalyzer test and with unsafe lane deviation.

The charges stem from a Dec. 17 incident on Lineville Road in Suamico, where a Brown County sheriff's deputy stopped him at 12:16 a.m. Two of the charges were issued shortly after the incident, while a new charge of operating with a prohibited alcohol level was charged this week.

“The Packers are aware of the matter involving Darren Perry and have been in communication with the NFL," the Packers said in a statement. "As a pending legal matter, we will refrain from making further comment."

psrubas@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @PGpaulsrubas