Darron Lee’s mugshot from April 3 (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office)
Months after he failed to appear in Franklin County Municipal Court for domestic violence and assault charges, former Ohio State and NFL linebacker Darron Lee's legal troubles increased in September.
According to court records The Columbus Dispatch obtained, the 28-year-old Lee now faces a felony drug possession charge. Court records reveal officers from the Dublin (Ohio) Police Department have accused Lee of possessing two bags of a white powder that lab testing confirmed was cocaine. The charge was filed on Sept. 6, according to the records.
Dublin police allege Lee had the bags on April 3, according to court records, the same day police arrested him on suspicion of domestic violence at a home in Dublin. Police appeared at the house that day after accusations that Lee punched a female relative multiple times in the head. While the Dublin police investigated that incident, authorities were made aware of a separate domestic violence allegation from Oct. 17, 2022, that was said to have occurred in the same home. According to court records, that incident involved the mother of Lee's child.
Police arrested Lee after the April 3 incident. He remained in the Franklin County jail until he posted a $20,000 bond in each case. Following his release, Lee was ordered to stay away from the female relative and the mother of his child.
Lee's current address is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to court records. The domestic violence cases were set for trial in June, but Lee did not appear in court. Franklin County Judge James Green issued arrest warrants, which remain pending. Lee is scheduled to appear for his drug possession charge on Sept. 21.
Court records show a request for Lee to be screened for possible acceptance into a drug court program, which provides counseling and other resources. If Lee receives admittance into the program and eventually completes it, the drug possession charge could be removed from his criminal record.
Lee played for Ohio State from 2013-15, starting at linebacker for the 2014 national championship team. He was then selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft by the New York Jets and spent five seasons in the league with the Jets, Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
Art Schlichter sentenced to probation for cocaine possession
According to court records The Columbus Dispatch obtained, a judge sentenced Art Schlichter to one-year probation after he was found guilty of cocaine possession in October 2022. The former Ohio State quarterback will serve an 11-month jail sentence if he violates his probation on the fifth-degree felony count.
Schlichter's charge and sentence stem from an incident in a Hampton Inn hotel room in Hilliard, Ohio. Officers from the Hilliard Police Department found Schlichter unresponsive in the room. They administered Narcan – a drug that reverses the effects of an opiate overdose – before Norwich Township paramedics transferred him to a local hospital. According to court records, drug paraphernalia was found "throughout the room," including a white powder that lab testing confirmed was .26 grams of cocaine.
An Ohio State quarterback from 1978-81, Schlichter was a first-round draft pick by the Baltimore Colts in 1982. He was suspended in 1983 after an FBI investigation into his gambling activities at Ohio State; however, Schlichter was reinstated, later playing for the Buffalo Bills.
