Tim Lincecum, star pitcher for the San Francisco Giants and a two-time All Star, is facing charges of misdemeanor possession of marijuana after being stopped for speeding on Interstate 5 in Vancouver last week.
Lincecum, judged as one of the best pitchers in the major leagues, starred for the University of Washington Huskies baseball team and is a native of Bellevue.
A Washington State Patrol motorcycle trooper working with a laser device timed a 2006 Mercedes-Benz doing 74 mph northbound in Hazel Dell near Northeast 78th Street at 8:23 a.m. Oct. 30, WSP trooper and spokesman Steve Schatzel said.
The speed limit there is 60 mph. The trooper pulled the Mercedes over. When the driver, Lincecum, rolled down his window, the trooper smelled marijuana. He asked Lincecum to hand it over, and Lincecum reached into his dashboard console and produced a small pouch and a pipe, Schatzel said.
The amount was 3.3 grams, Schatzel said, which is considered only enough for personal use. Lincecum did not appear to be impaired behind the wheel and is not being charged with a felony crime, Schatzel said.
“Not unless there’s something else going on,” Schatzel said. “With this amount of marijuana, that’s normally the way we deal with it.”
He said 3.3 grams of marijuana is about the size of a person’s thumb.
Lincecum “was cited and released,” Schatzel said. The speeding citation was for $122. He is expected to be arraigned Nov. 23 in Clark County District Court.
Schatzel said the motorcycle officer was joined by another officer in a marked patrol car; one didn’t know who Lincecum was but the other recognized the name of the baseball player.
He said the troopers didn’t do anything that wasn’t routine.
Lincecum, 25, won the National League’s 2008 Cy Young Award as its top pitcher and was the league’s starting pitcher in this year’s All-Star Game.
A spokesman for the San Francisco Giants did not respond to a request for comment.
