Ex-USC, Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich arrested on probation violations in Orange County
Former USC and Los Angeles Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich, who has waged a public battle with drug addiction after fading from the professional sports circuit, was arrested for probation violations on two separate occasions in Orange County last month, officials said.
Marinovich was taken into custody on March 19 and March 23 for probation violations, said Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. She could not say why the 48-year-old was detained, and referred further questions to the county probation department.
A probation department spokeswoman declined to comment.
Marinovich was arrested and released on bond on March 19, according to online jail records. He was detained again on March 23 and is expected to remain in custody at the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana until May 3, records show.
Growing up in Orange County, Marinovich was a football standout at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana and Capistrano Valley High, then went on to play for USC, where he led the Trojans to a Rose Bowl victory in 1990.
The then-Los Angeles Raiders selected Marinovich in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft, but he was flushed out of the league after two seasons.
In the decades since, Marinovich has repeatedly been arrested for drug offenses including cultivating marijuana and possession of heroin. In 2016, Irvine police said they found a naked Marinovich in possession of methamphetamine in the backyard of a person he did not know.
He pleaded guilty to public nudity, drug possession and trespassing in that incident and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.
Marinovich’s protracted struggle with substance abuse has been a public one, as he has sometimes spoken out to offer advice to others suffering from similar addictions. The father of two has worked as an artist in recent years, developing contracted murals around Orange County.
In an interview with the Desert Sun last year, Marinovich said he had been sober for about a year after the Irvine arrest while receiving treatment at the Palm Desert Recovery Center. He had also been playing organized football again, suiting up with the SoCal Coyotes of the World Developmental Football League.
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