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Posted on 02/02/2007 4:49:39 PM PST by randita
Posted on Fri, Feb. 02, 2007
Reid son admits taking heroin
Garrett Reid told police he'd used heroin before his accident in Montco.
By Mari A. Schaefer and Larry King Inquirer Staff Writers
The eldest son of Eagles coach Andy Reid admitted using heroin before causing a traffic accident this week in Montgomery County, court documents show.
Garrett Reid, 23, "acknowledged using heroin... on Tuesday," according to a search-warrant affidavit released yesterday. He made the admission in a written statement he gave police after the accident.
"Reid also acknowledged possessing drug paraphernalia including hypodermic syringes," the affidavit said.
Police obtained search warrants that led them to a handgun, ammunition, suspected drugs and other items in two vehicles owned by the Eagles head coach. A second gun and more ammunition were found in the Reids' Villanova house.
While Andy Reid is not suspected of wrongdoing, two of his sons, Garrett and Britt, 21, await the results of lab tests that could deepen their legal trouble.
Also under scrutiny is the ownership of the guns found in the Reid house, and whether Britt Reid illegally wielded one during an alleged road-rage incident Tuesday morning in West Conshohocken.
Andy Reid and his wife, Tammy, have said nothing publicly about their sons' cases. The couple cut short a California vacation on Wednesday.
The family is "fully cooperating with law-enforcement officials... and will continue to do so," the sons' attorney, William J. Winning, said in a written statement yesterday. "Until these matters are resolved, however, neither the Reid family or I will have any further comment and we ask that the privacy of the Reid family be respected."
Garrett Reid, whose speeding SUV allegedly ran a red light in Plymouth Township and injured a woman when it crashed into her car, is awaiting the results of drug and alcohol tests. Also being examined are white powder, syringes and other drug paraphernalia - including a set of scales - found in Reid's pockets or inside his vehicle.
The fate of Britt Reid, accused of waving a handgun at another motorist earlier the same day in West Conshohocken, also hinges in part on lab tests of suspected drugs. Officers who searched the black SUV he was driving found plastic bags with white residue; containers holding white powder and a green, leafy substance; and four small, white pills - as well as a handgun and ammunition, according to court documents.
Still another focus is the gun believed to have been in Britt Reid's vehicle, along with a second handgun found in the Reids' house late Tuesday. It has not been disclosed who owns the weapons, or whether Britt Reid was licensed to carry one in his vehicle.
Trooper Lynette Quinn, a Pennsylvania State Police spokeswoman, said state law prohibits her from identifying whether a person is a registered owner of a firearm, or holds a permit to carry that weapon.
Risa V. Ferman, Montgomery County first assistant district attorney, refused to comment on the investigation.
"When we complete the investigation and have an opportunity to review evidence the police have found, that is when we will be speaking publicly," she said.
Garrett and Britt Reid are the eldest of Andy and Tammy Reid's five children, and have been living at home.
Until now, the former Harriton High School football players have had a long history of driving misadventures and minor arrests.
Court records show that Garrett Reid has at least four speeding convictions and two other traffic violations in this area since 2001. He also pleaded guilty in 2004 to shoplifting $61.95 of merchandise from a Sam Goody music store in Ardmore.
Britt Reid has at least one speeding conviction. By his own admission, he has been involved in three crashes since 2002, one of which resulted in an ongoing lawsuit in Montgomery County Court.
The injured driver in that case, Murray Nathanson of Wynnewood, has accused Britt Reid of speeding and recklessly colliding with his vehicle on Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore while driving an Eagles-leased GMC Yukon SUV in January 2002.
According to police records, Tuesday's investigations began at 9:16 a.m., when an unidentified driver reported being threatened by another motorist with a gun at Front Street and Moorhead Avenue in West Conshohocken.
The suspect, now believed to be Britt Reid, was driving a black SUV, the other motorist said. The argument was over who was in the proper lane, he reported, and at one point the SUV driver got out and walked toward his vehicle before retreating.
"The white male then sat down in the driver's seat and he proceeded to reach behind the front passenger's seat and pull out a platinum-colored handgun," a police affidavit said. "The white male then pointed the handgun directly at the victim and smiled" before heading south on Matsonford Road toward the Blue Route.
The other driver took down the SUV's license number, which was registered to Andy and Tammy Reid.
Six hours later, a Jeep Liberty driven by Garrett Reid was clocked by an East Norriton police officer at 54 m.p.h. in a 35 m.p.h. zone. Officer Anthony Caso reported seeing the SUV swerve between lanes and attempted to follow it, an affidavit says.
At Germantown Pike and Arch Road, the SUV ran a red light and struck a Ford sedan. The driver, Louise Hartman, 55, of Mount Carmel, Pa., was treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and released Tuesday night.
Reid told police that "he was reaching over to grab something that fell" when the accident happened.
In Reid's vehicle, the affidavit said, police saw "a triple beam scale commonly used in drug trafficking," ammunition and a pellet gun.
Officers patted Reid down and found a knife, two uncapped used hypodermic syringes, cotton balls, adhesive tape, prep swabs, a spoon and scissors.
Reid "did not follow simple directions," the affidavit said. He "appeared to be very calm and could not understand what was told to him." Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-892-9149 or mschaefer@phillynews.com.
The son is not a public figure, his father is. Why does this deserve such an extensive write-up? Would the Inquirer prefer a different Eagles coach?
Crap, I got all excited this was Harry Reid. Who cares in this case??
I thought this article was going to be about one of Harry Reid's sorry sons. I know they take bribes but guess they don't take heroin.
I should have known Harry's sons wouldn't admit to being criminals. Like father, like sons.
I was in Montgomery Co. PA Jail (MCCF) yesterday (not as an inmate, I work for a vendor for correctional IT solutions). Small world....
It certainly is news.
The only explanation for Harry Reid's attitude is that he's a doper!
My bad. Sorry coach - didn't mean to dis you like that!!
Seems like the news media has really layed off these kids, considering the fact that each one has had several brushes with the law in the past 5 years or so and this is the first I've heard/read anything about it and I keep up with the Philly press.
The parents were away on vacation when this happened and I'm sure there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. Questions I have are: After all those driving violations, why were the kids permitted to drive the parents' cars? Were the guns and drugs a permanent fixture in the home right under the parents' noses, or did they appear when the parents went out of town? Were the parents aware of the drug problems and if so, had some kind of intervention taken place?
I'd like to think that the Reids were aware of the kids' troubles and were taking action to get them help, rather than that they were oblivious or in denial.
Andy Reid will have to make a statement to the press soon and perhaps we'll learn more then. He can't say anything that would hurt them legally, but hopefully he'll shed some light on the situation.
The rumor mill with Eagles fans has Andy making a statement that says he's either Taking Leave or Retiring to take care of his family. This happening with both of his sons, and the next few weeks/months entail bowls, combine, draft etc.
It will be difficult for him to "choose" the team over his family when it's obvious his boys are facing criminal charges and will need lawyers, etc.
And yes, I am blaming the parents.
Pay attention to your children now or you'll be paying attention later.
Maybe Bill Parcells will take over.
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