Former Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter faces new felony cocaine charge
A former Ohio State University quarterback's legal troubles have continued with a new indictment, charging him with felony possession of drugs.
A Franklin County grand jury handed up the one count indictment Friday against Art Schlichter, 64. The charge stems from a traffic stop in February where a Ohio Highway Patrol trooper found suspected cocaine in Schlichter's vehicle.
He is scheduled to appear for an arraignment on Sept. 3 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Video from that incident shows Schlichter standing outside a disabled vehicle near East Hudson Street and Hamilton Avenue. A trooper approaches Schlichter and while Schlichter is trying to call someone to pick him up, the trooper notices what looks like drug paraphernalia in the car.
Schlichter also gave the trooper two glass pipes during the interaction, the video shows.
The trooper found the suspected cocaine while searching the vehicle. Video from the traffic stop shows Schlichter twice told the trooper he played football for Ohio State.
Schlichter had initially been charged with the felony in Franklin County Municipal Court, however, the charge was dismissed while additional testing was done to confirm the substance found in Schlichter's vehicle was cocaine.
At the time of the Feb. 2 incident, Schlichter was on probation for a cocaine possession charge. That case occurred after Schlichter was found unresponsive in June 2022 in a hotel room near Hilliard.
Schlichter had been released less than a year before the overdose from prison after serving time for a ticket scheme that cost victims millions of dollars.
Schlichter played for Ohio State between 1978 and 1981 before playing four seasons in the NFL.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Art Schlichter, former Ohio State quarterback, indicted on drug charge
