Marinovich pleads not guilty to possession charges

Former Los Angeles Raiders and USC quarterback Todd Marinovich has pleaded not guilty to charges of felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor counts of unauthorized possession of a hypodermic needle and resisting a police officer in Orange County courts, district prosecutors said.

Marinovich, 38, of Newport Beach, faces three years in prison if found guilty of these most recent charges.

Newport Beach Police arrested the former football star early Sunday morning near the Newport Pier where he was skateboarding, police said.

Police tried to stop him but he ran off, police said.

He was found a few blocks away a short time later.

The officers searched him and found about a gram of methamphetamine, a metal spoon and a hypodermic needle, inside of a guitar case Marinovich carried with him, police said.

Marinovich was taken into custody at the Orange County Jail where he was booked without bail due to a number of warrants issued against him for probation violations.

He is set for a pretrial hearing Sept. 6 in the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, prosecutors said. He remained in jail Thursday evening, authorities said.

According to prosecutors Marinovich has been involved in roughly nine cases over the years, many of which were drug-related.

— Kelly Strodl