The possession of cocaine charge has been dropped against Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts, the prosecutor in Saluda County, South Carolina, told the Savannah Morning News on Thursday, Aug. 8.
Al Eargle, the Deputy Solicitor for the 11th Judicial Circuit which includes Saluda County, told Werts’ attorney, Townes Jones IV, that these kinds of charges would not be pressed on “his watch,” Jones said.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) tests were conducted on the substance samples collected from the hood of Werts’ 2016 Dodge Charger, but the results confirmed that no controlled substance was present in the samples.
“I have not seen (the SLED results) yet,” Eargle said on a phone call Thursday night. “But I was informed that the test did come back and that there was no controlled substance found.”
A native of nearby Clinton, South Carolina, Werts was charged on July 31 with misdemeanor possession of cocaine and speeding after his silver Dodge Charger was clocked going 80 mph on Chappells Highway at 8:58 that evening in Saluda County. The speeding charge remains.
Werts, the Eagles’ starting quarterback, was suspended from the team for two days before returning to practice on Sunday.
Field tests taken by two different officers on the substances tested positive for cocaine with two different kits, in two different spots of the hood.