This story is so stupid, I feel bad making you read it, but it's a teachable moment. Former North Carolina guard, Will Graves, was cited last week for misdemeanor charges when cops searched his home and found eight marijuana seeds, three (!) blunts and two burnt blunts, all helpfully scare-quoted in most write ups because maybe your alcoholic granddad doesn't know that blunts and seeds are something the kids are "doing" these days. A nothing story became Breaking News From The Breaking News Center because Will Graves consented to a search of his home.
That's right! Will Graves wasn't doing anything illegal and the police had no right to enter his house, but that didn't stop them from asking. They'll always ask because you might actually say "yes." It may seem weird to say "no" to a cop, but you absolutely can and should if they've got no other right to be on your property. Graves was renting the home from his former coach, Roy Williams, but the principle applies all the same. That is his house and you need his permission to enter without a warrant or probable cause.
So, what the hell were the cops doing there in the first place?
A meter reader with the utility company called police after assessing the house that was thought to be vacant but suspected somebody was living at the residence.
Come oooonnnnnnn. This is the worst, Will Graves. I feel bad for you because this is just a shit situation. Some nosy electric company worker drops the dime on you and then all of a sudden cops are at your door—questioning whether you have a right to be in a home you are paying for because a fucking meter reader wasn't sure—and asking if they could look around. He probably felt like he had to let them in, to prove he's not squatting in the house, which is bullshit. But cops know that's how people will react, it's why they ask.
Graves then allowed police to enter and since they had his consent, and therefore a legal right to be in the home, anything they observed was fair game. Which is how they found the pot.
So, here's the deal: if some snoopy meter reader calls the cops because he or she isn't up to date on whether a property is being rented, it is your right to tell the cops who come by to check it out to either show you a warrant or get fucked. Otherwise you might be forced to release a ridiculous statement expressing remorse for getting cited for possession of three blunts in your own fucking home. Dude wasn't even arrested and we've got reports of a "Drug bust" involving former UNC player Will Graves. That's how crazy drugs make the people who don't use them.
Photo credit: Getty
Drug bust at home owned by UNC coach Roy Williams [ABC]
Former UNC player cited for drugs at Williams-owned home [WRAL]