Virginia Tech player’s lawyer gets drug conviction cleared

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) — A former Virginia Tech basketball player did not show up to his court date for a marijuana possession charge, leading a judge to find him guilty before reversing the conviction hours later.
News outlets report 23-year-old Tyrone Khalil Outlaw didn’t appear on his misdemeanor drug offense Thursday after his case was called about 45 minutes late.
The Roanoke Times says Outlaw’s attorney then persuaded the judge to undo the guilty verdict, along with the $100 fine and license suspension. The court will reschedule the proceedings to Sept. 12.
In March, the charge nearly caused Outlaw to be sidelined from the NCAA Tournament, when officers responding to a smell of marijuana at his Virginia apartment say they discovered drugs. Outlaw was in California playing in the tournament.