Posted on 03/25/2009 8:19:02 AM PDT by Born Conservative
KINGSTON – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers will open their season without their star defensive end Isaac Hilton Jr., who was suspended by the team owner hours after he was arrested on drug charges.
Police arrested Hilton, 28, known as “Ike,” while he was practicing with the Pioneers at the Wyoming Valley Sports Dome Tuesday morning.
He was taken before District Judge Paul J. Roberts Jr. in Kingston, where he was arraigned on charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, former convict not to own a firearm and two conspiracy counts.
During his arraignment, Hilton asked to be released on his own recognizance because he has a football game Friday night. He further told the judge that Pioneers Head Coach Rich Ingold would “vouch” for him.
Instead, Hilton was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $25,000 bail.
Police said Hilton sold marijuana to a confidential informant from his apartment on Second Avenue, Kingston, on Jan. 17. A search of the residence recovered 70 bags of marijuana and a loaded 12-gauge Mossburg shotgun, according to arrest records.
Police said in arrest records that Hilton is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of an armed robbery conviction in South Carolina.
“I was just sick,” Ingold said after Hilton’s arrest. “When (police) came over there, the policemen came to me. They didn’t want to make a big spectacle at practice and they basically told me they had a warrant for Ike Hilton. When I found out what it was for, I was just sick. I was in disbelief.”
Ingold said he went for a jog to clear his mind after Hilton’s arrest.
Pioneers owner Cosmo DeNicola said Hilton was placed on team suspension.
“The news that one of the players assigned to us by the arenafootball2 league (DE Isaac Hilton) has been arrested this morning is very distressing. We take great pride in our status in the community and take our responsibility very seriously. We will be supportive of the legal process that will ensue. The league has requested that he be placed on team suspension effective immediately,” DeNicola said in a prepared statement.
According to Foxsports.com, Hilton was the 253rd overall pick (seventh round) by the New York Giants in the 2004 NFL draft out of Hampton University (Va.). He was cut by the Giants before the start of the 2004 season, and briefly played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers. He played for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League and with the arena football team Los Angeles Avengers before his arrival with the Pioneers last season.
Ingold said Hilton was a model player and was expected to have a great year. He said the team understands it needs to focus on the upcoming season that opens Friday night against Manchester at Wachovia Arena.
“We got to move on,” Ingold said. “Our guys have been around each other with basically the same team as last year. Our team is pretty resilient. I think our guys are going to become closer; I really do. I think we’re going to pull together on this because this is something we take very seriously. We’re very big in the community and there’s been a positive vibe in the area around us the last few days and then this explosion happens. So I think our guys are going to bond together really good. We just got to forge ahead and our guys got to learn from this.”
Hilton is tentatively scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 1 in Central Court.
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