honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 1:45 p.m., Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Courts: Son of Eagles coach faces new drug charges

By Patrick Walters
Associated Press

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid was charged today with driving under the influence and drug violations while still awaiting sentencing for a separate road-rage incident earlier this year.

Britt Reid was jailed last week for violating bail terms after police found 30› pills, including the painkiller hydrocodone, amphetamines and antidepressants, during a traffic stop in Plymouth Township.

Charges from that stop were announced today.

Two weeks ago, the 22-year-old Reid pleaded guilty to gun and drug charges stemming from a January encounter in which police say he brandished a gun at another driver. While out on bail, he was required to remain drug-free and drive only to his community college classes.

In the latest incident, Reid was charged with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence, three drug violations and careless driving, authorities said.

Police, alerted by a suspicious store clerk, approached Reid's car in a mall parking lot last week. Plymouth Township officers activated their lights and then watched Reid's car hit a shopping cart. The officers pulled Reid over and administered a field sobriety test, which he failed.

"I am quite confident that the evidence shows that Britt Reid was not capable of operating a vehicle safely," Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor Jr. said at a news conference.

Investigators said they also found a pill crusher, a pipe used to smoke marijuana and a $10 bill with white residue that they believe may have been used to snort drugs.

Reid, wearing a black pinstripe suit, a red striped tie and handcuffs, was arraigned on the new charges Wednesday by Conshohocken District Judge Francis J. Bernhardt III, who set bail at $5,000.

Reid's attorney, Ross Weiss, declined to comment on the accusations. He said Reid would remain jailed because his bail had been revoked in the previous case.

Castor said the state Attorney General would likely take over prosecution of the case because of a possible conflict of interest involving Reid's attorney.

Britt Reid's older brother, 24-year-old Garrett, also is facing jail time for drug and traffic charges. Garrett Reid admitted using heroin the day he ran a red light and hit another car — the same day Britt Reid was arrested in the road-rage case. He faces a mandatory minimum of three days in jail.

Andy Reid has refused to discuss his sons' legal problems. In February, the coach took a five-week leave from the team to deal with the family problems.

"Family, obviously, is the most important thing in my life," Andy Reid said after returning to the team in the spring. "To say walking away, I can't say it doesn't cross your mind. I knew I needed to take some time and to make sure I addressed the issue."