Theft and Guns and Drugs, Oh My!

So, the latest drama in the Scott case is that a "large amount" of drugs was discovered in the area where he was arrested. One of the sheriff's involved in the case, Leonard Rivas, had this latest update:

"We're still trying to make contact with who lives in the house," Rivas said. "We have not been able to do so."

Rivas said no allegedly stolen property was found in Scott's car, or on any of the suspects. They were all arrested outside of the residence in the 11600 block of Pioneer Boulevard.

"We saw some property on the ground, but we don't know if it was just there, or brought out of the house (by the suspects)," Rivas said.

This must have been the dirtiest yard in all of Norwalk! It was littered with guns, drugs, and personal property. That or something fishy was going on and whoever owned the guns and drugs ditched 'em as the cops rolled up. It doesn't sounds like Scott was the one who had this stuff with him, according to the version of events that Scott's attorney, Milton Grimes, relayed to the LA Times:

"Scott never went into that house; he did not know of anything untoward"

Detailing Scott's recap of the minutes before the arrests, Grimes said the three men drove to the home of DeAlba's cousin, and a male came out of the house and briefly talked to DeAlba before going back inside.

Later, DeAlba also entered the house, looking for his cousin.

"[DeAlba] walks back outside, yelling for his cousin, police pull up, and they get Eric out of the car," Grimes said. "DeAlba admitted he took something from the house. I'm not sure what the items were."

Considering that they can't find anyone at this house, and there were no drugs, guns, or stolen possessions on anybody at the scene, I have a feeling that the charges will eventually be dropped. It is sounding more and more like Scott was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I know Scott has a troubled background and, if this version of the story holds up, then it is too bad that he is getting dragged into somebody else's crap. On the flip side, if Scott is going to hang out with people who are involved in "untoward" business then he has to know that this type of trouble could happen. It is hard to make that break and I know he has a lot of ties with Crenshaw kids who might not have followed the straight-and-narrow path. Still, you're a coach at a major D-1 school now. You can't get caught up in something like this.

I'm all for second chances and I think the coaches took a chance with Scott when he was hired. In all fairness, though, if UCLA and Karl Dorrell didn't have a full picture of all his past legal troubles then that isn't cool. I know the University and the program don't want their image tarnished and this type of negative press is never a good thing. Even if Scott didn't commit any crimes in this situation, the fact that he has a criminal past (even if they were misdemeanors) , is now branded in the minds of fans, families, and future recruits.

I guess we'll have to wait and see what comes from this situation. For now Scott is still on paid leave and his future with the program is unclear.