Second Stout player appears on drug charges
Second Stout player appears on drug charges, By: LeAnn R. Ralph
January 29, 2007
A second member of the 2006 UW-Stout football team made an initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court Tuesday on felony drug charges.
Nicholas A. OrRico, 202 12th Ave. West, Menomonie, has been charged with one Class I felony count of delivering marijuana, one Class I felony count of possessing marijuana with intent to deliver and one misdemeanor count of possessing drug paraphernalia.
OrRico, along with Luke Steffen, another member of 2006 Stout football team, John Freeman, a former Stout football player, and Freeman’s brother, Andre Freeman, were arrested on drug charges in December.
According to the criminal complaint, Steffen told investigators that marijuana found at his residence at 208 1/2 13th Ave. West had come from OrRico, and that OrRico had used Steffen’s scale to weigh the marijuana and package it.
During a search of OrRico’s residence, investigators found more marijuana, along with two homemade bongs and a glass pipe, items that are commonly used to smoke marijuana.
OrRico, a 21-year-old UW-Stout junior from Lodi, admitted to investigators that he purchased marijuana in the Twin Cities and that he has sold marijuana to his friends.
Vials of what were believed to be anabolic steroids also were found during the investigation and were sent to the state crime lab for testing.
According to court documents, the state crime lab identified the substance found at OrRico’s residence as an anabolic steroid called Stanozolol. Athletes use anabolic steroids to build muscle, and according to the Wikipedia Web site, Stanozolol is one of the steroids banned from use in sports competition.
Court documents also state that OrRico was in possession of Tamoxifen, a prescription drug for which he did not have a prescription.
Tamoxifen is used to treat women after they have been treated for estrogen-dependent breast cancer to keep the cancer from returning.
An Internet search revealed that athletes and body builders who use anabolic steroids also use Tamoxifen after a cycle of steroids to help restore natural testosterone production more quickly. Anabolic steroids are derived from testosterone and cause the body to stop producing its own testosterone.
A Class I felony carries a penalty of up to a $10,000 fine, a prison term of up to three and a half years, and the suspension of driving privileges for between six months and five years.
The misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia carries a penalty of up to a $500 fine, a prison term of no more than 30 days, and the suspension of driving privileges for between six months and five years.
OrRico, who is free on a $200 bond, waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing during the court proceeding on Tuesday. He is scheduled to make a second appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court on March 13.
