Georgia linebacker Natrez Patrick, who had a misdemeanor drug charge dropped earlier this week, also faces a January court hearing for an alleged probation violation after he tested positive for marijuana, a solicitor told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
According to the report, the drug test was administered after Patrick, who was on probation for an October misdemeanor marijuana arrest in Athens, Georgia, was arrested in nearby Barrow County, Georgia on Dec. 3 for misdemeanor marijuana possession.
That charge was dropped Thursday, and Patrick's lawyer, William Healan III of Winder, Georgia, told the AJC that Patrick passed a UGA-administered drug test within hours of the arrest.
The Barrow County arrest triggered a probation violation in Athens-Clarke County, and Athens-Clarke County solicitor C.R. Chisholm said the subsequent drug test was standard in such situations. Chisholm told the AJC that the positive drug test, which came a few days after the Barrow County arrest, was still considered "an allegation" that Patrick has a right to contest at the hearing on Jan. 11.
"He has a right to deny the allegation and go forward with the hearing," Chisholm told the AJC.
The district attorney's office of Barrow County dismissed criminal charges against Patrick on Thursday. Patrick was one of two Bulldogs players arrested on misdemeanor marijuana charges on Dec. 3.
Patrick and reserve receiver Jayson Stanley were arrested only hours after the Bulldogs upset No. 2 Auburn 28-7 in the SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. They were returning to Atlanta when a Barrow County sheriff's deputy stopped the car for speeding on Georgia Highway 316. Stanley was driving. According to people familiar with the arrest, the officer smelled marijuana emanating from the car.
The district attorney's office also dropped DUI charges against Stanley during a hearing Thursday at Barrow County Probate Court. Stanley agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana and speeding, according to his attorney, Kevin Christopher of Jefferson, Georgia.
Healan told ESPN that officers arrested Patrick after discovering a loose leaf of marijuana in the passenger's seat of Stanley's car. Healan said the leaf was smaller than a penny.
"When you get into someone's car, you're not going to search it to see if there's marijuana in the car," Healan said. "My client didn't know the marijuana was there. If you're sitting on a little piece of marijuana that you didn't know was there, you're not knowingly in possession of it."
In a video released to media last week by the Barrow County Sheriff's Office, Stanley claimed ownership of the marijuana and is seen pleading with officers to not charge Patrick. "It's my car. It's my car, though," Stanley said in the bodycam footage. "Please hear me out. Please, please, please."
It wasn't immediately known whether Patrick would be available when the No. 3 Bulldogs take on No. 2 Oklahoma in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual on New Year's Day.
Georgia Athletic Association policies mandate that student-athletes be dismissed from the team following a third drug-related incident. Stanley faced a two-game suspension for the DUI charges and a one-game suspension for the drug-related incident.
Patrick is Georgia's sixth-leading tackler with 35 stops, and he had three tackles in the SEC championship game. Stanley has three tackles on special teams and hasn't had a reception in 11 games.