Taurean Prince, a Minnesota Timberwolves forward, was taken into custody in Miami Thursday night. He was apprehended on an out-of-state fugitive warrant for a charge he obtained in May 2022 from a traffic stop in Texas where authorities allegedly found guns and drugs in his vehicle.
He was held at the Miami-Dade County Jail but released on a $2,500 bond.
The 28-year-old NBA forward was arrested by Miami-Dade police because he had a warrant out for him from Tarrant County, Texas, for possessing “dangerous drugs.” Prince’s attorney Kent Schaffer told People that the amount authorities found was “1/100th of an ounce of THC.” But THC is illegal in Texas, and two ounces or less is still punishable.
On May 19, Prince was stopped by Arlington police for driving with an expired tag. Prince informed the police that he had two guns inside the car. They told Prince to get out of the vehicle and searched the car, only to find the guns, a vape pen containing THC oil and a canister of marijuana.
“Under Texas law, it’s illegal to carry a gun while engaging in a criminal offense,” Arlington Police told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “Because suspected illegal substances were found in his vehicle, we arrested Mr. Prince for Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon and Possession of Marijuana < 2oz. Whenever we recover a suspected illegal substance, we’ll send it to a lab for testing to confirm what it is. We did that in this case—and based on the lab results, which just recently came back.”
Schaffer said the arrest warrant caught him off guard.
“The only reason we knew [about the warrant] was because he was going out of the country for vacation,” Schaffer said. “He was in the [Miami International] Airport, and his name came up showing that there was a warrant, and they took him into custody.”
Schaffer added, “It should not have been handled in the manner that it was, it’s totally unnecessary and embarrassing, but we predict that this case is going to be dismissed in due course.”
The President of Basketball Operations (POBO), Tim Connelly, gave a statement about the matter.
“Obviously, we’re taking these allegations seriously,” Connelly said. “We’re trying to find more information out, and as we find out more, we can speak with more authority. But right now it’s fact-finding and….hurry up and wait.”
Caught up with #Timberwolves POBO Tim Connelly at the Fair. Here is what he could offer up on Taurean Prince’s situation: pic.twitter.com/RgVvAeEb0K
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) August 26, 2022
