Jets RB Mike Goodson Pleads Not Guilty To Drug, Weapons Charges
Morristown, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Jets running back Mike Goodson pleaded not guilty to all drug and weapons charges during his arraignment Wednesday at Morris County Superior Court.
Goodson was arrested early Friday and charged with possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and weapons offenses. Police said he was the passenger in a vehicle stopped dead on I-80 West in Denville.
A loaded handgun and hollow-point bullets were found in the vehicle, and both Goodson and the driver, 31-year-old Garant Evans, were intoxicated, police said. Evans also received charges of DWI and possession of a weapon with a prior felony.
Goodson's lawyer, Tony Fusco, told multiple news outlets that his client would plead not guilty across the board.
Fusco said neither the gun nor the marijuana belonged to Goodson.
"The gun wasn't his," Fusco told the New York Post. "We're going to be able to show that. We're very confident."
"You're always worried," he added. "You don't want to get cocky. But I'm pretty sure that we'll be able to show it wasn't his."
Fusco told the New York Daily News that a conviction on one of the weapons charges would likely mean prison time.
The Jets signed Goodson this offseason to a three-year, $6.9 million deal. The running back told the team the gun wasn't his, the Daily News reported.
Earlier this week, Jets owner Woody Johnson said the franchise was in "fact-finding" mode regarding Goodson.
"We're trying to win games and do the right thing," Johnson said. "Truth, justice and the American way. We live by it, we really do. We have a strong credo, very proud people, very intelligent people that work in our building. We want to avoid the avoidable and I think we do a good job."
Goodson will return to court for a pre-trial hearing on June 12.
Fusco said Goodson had a message for fans: "Just to hang tight," according to Conor Orr of the Newark Star-Ledger.
"He is denying these charges, he's got a great case, we've got a great defense," Fusco said Wednesday. "A lot of people are for him because he just comes off as a really great guy. So a message to the fans? Just hold on. He wants his fans to just hold on and root for the Jets."
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