Ex-BGSU player fined after plea in drug case

4/14/2005

BOWLING GREEN - Former Bowling Green State University basketball player Germain Fitch pleaded no contest and was found guilty yesterday in Bowling Green Municipal Court of possession of marijuana.

Mr. Fitch, 22, of Willoughby, Ohio, was ordered to pay a $150 fine, and his driver's license was suspended for six months by Judge Mark Reddin.

Additional charges of driving in marked lanes and having no operator's license were dismissed.

Mr. Fitch was stopped by Bowling Green police March 1 after an officer saw his car cross the center line twice. Police said they found marijuana residue in the ashtray and marijuana stems and seeds on the floor.

J.D. Campbell, assistant athletic director for communications at BGSU, said Mr. Fitch had "not been involved in any basketball-related activities since the arrest."

Mr. Fitch started all but one of the first 14 games of the season, but he injured his knee Jan. 22 and had not seen much playing time between then and his arrest.