Shell arrested for cocaine use
Senta Scarborough, Richard Obert and Josh Kelley
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 30, 2005 03:55 PM
MESA - The head coach of the Arizona Rattlers arena football team admitted snorting cocaine behind a Mesa business early Tuesday and faces possible drug charges, police said.
Todd Shell was shirtless and sweating profusely when an officer found him pacing around his Land Cruiser about 1 a.m. behind a business near Ivy Street and Greenfield Road, Mesa police Detective Tim Gaffney said.
Shell told the officer he owned the business and kept looking north. When the officer asked why he was looking in that direction, Shell told him he was alone but said a "guy wearing camouflage is in the tree," police said. The officer found no one else in the area. advertisement
"We're surprised," said Rattlers General Manager and Vice President Gene Nudo. "We're going to deal with the situation accordingly once we have all the facts. It wouldn't be appropriate to comment beyond that."
Owner Bob Hernreich, who came in a year after Shell was hired as head coach of the Rattlers, said, "Right now, we're just trying to see what information we've got and go from there."
The Rattlers finished 7-9 in Shell's first season, missing the playoffs for the first time since the team's inaugural 1992 season. Shell won two Super Bowl rings as a linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s and starred at Mesa Mountain View High in the late 1970s, before playing at Brigham Young University.
"I'm really sorry to hear that," said Jesse Parker, who coached Shell at Mountain View and now coaches at Gilbert High. "It's unbelievable, because of the kind of person he's always been.
"He was a special kid. I hope he gets some help."
Mesa police discovered Shell had an outstanding warrant for his arrest issued by Gilbert Municipal Court for failing to comply with terms of probation because of a failed summons attempt, according to court documents.
Shell plead guilty in July 2004 to an Extreme DUI citation that he received Dec. 27, 2003, in Gilbert. Police pulled Shell over and conducted a breath test on him that indicated his blood-alcohol content was between .17 and .175, according to a police report.
Mesa police officer Mike Duke arrested and searched Shell and found a white substance believed to be cocaine in a clear bag along with a red straw with white powder inside the pockets of his shorts. He also had an Arizona Rattlers identification card in his pocket.
At first, Shell, 43, of Mesa, said he found the bag in the parking lot but later admitted the substance, which he identified as cocaine, was his. He said he had an "eight ball," or an eighth of an ounce.
Shell told the officer he went behind the business to use the cocaine, and told the officer he had only used cocaine three times and he had obtained the drug from a friend.
After arresting Shell, Mesa police turned him over to Gilbert police. Shell later posted a $1,000 bond and was released.
Mesa police are expected to submit possible charges of possession of narcotic drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for review pending drug test results.
Senta Scarborough, Richard Obert and Josh Kelley
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 30, 2005 03:55 PM
MESA - The head coach of the Arizona Rattlers arena football team admitted snorting cocaine behind a Mesa business early Tuesday and faces possible drug charges, police said.
Todd Shell was shirtless and sweating profusely when an officer found him pacing around his Land Cruiser about 1 a.m. behind a business near Ivy Street and Greenfield Road, Mesa police Detective Tim Gaffney said.
Shell told the officer he owned the business and kept looking north. When the officer asked why he was looking in that direction, Shell told him he was alone but said a "guy wearing camouflage is in the tree," police said. The officer found no one else in the area. advertisement
"We're surprised," said Rattlers General Manager and Vice President Gene Nudo. "We're going to deal with the situation accordingly once we have all the facts. It wouldn't be appropriate to comment beyond that."
Owner Bob Hernreich, who came in a year after Shell was hired as head coach of the Rattlers, said, "Right now, we're just trying to see what information we've got and go from there."
The Rattlers finished 7-9 in Shell's first season, missing the playoffs for the first time since the team's inaugural 1992 season. Shell won two Super Bowl rings as a linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s and starred at Mesa Mountain View High in the late 1970s, before playing at Brigham Young University.
"I'm really sorry to hear that," said Jesse Parker, who coached Shell at Mountain View and now coaches at Gilbert High. "It's unbelievable, because of the kind of person he's always been.
"He was a special kid. I hope he gets some help."
Mesa police discovered Shell had an outstanding warrant for his arrest issued by Gilbert Municipal Court for failing to comply with terms of probation because of a failed summons attempt, according to court documents.
Shell plead guilty in July 2004 to an Extreme DUI citation that he received Dec. 27, 2003, in Gilbert. Police pulled Shell over and conducted a breath test on him that indicated his blood-alcohol content was between .17 and .175, according to a police report.
Mesa police officer Mike Duke arrested and searched Shell and found a white substance believed to be cocaine in a clear bag along with a red straw with white powder inside the pockets of his shorts. He also had an Arizona Rattlers identification card in his pocket.
At first, Shell, 43, of Mesa, said he found the bag in the parking lot but later admitted the substance, which he identified as cocaine, was his. He said he had an "eight ball," or an eighth of an ounce.
Shell told the officer he went behind the business to use the cocaine, and told the officer he had only used cocaine three times and he had obtained the drug from a friend.
After arresting Shell, Mesa police turned him over to Gilbert police. Shell later posted a $1,000 bond and was released.
Mesa police are expected to submit possible charges of possession of narcotic drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for review pending drug test results.
