Marijuana Found in Hoyt’s Car on Day of Pill Arrest at Border

U.S. Customs Service agents found three marijuana cigarettes in LaMarr Hoyt’s car on Oct. 28, the day Hoyt was arrested at the San Ysidro border on suspicion of smuggling pills across the border, federal investigators said Tuesday.

The marijuana cigarettes were turned over to U.S. prosecutors as evidence against Hoyt, a 31-year-old pitcher for the San Diego Padres. Hoyt’s car, a Porsche with fewer than 9,000 miles on the odometer, was also impounded.

This was the third time in the last year that Hoyt has been found carrying marijuana. Federal Judge Roger Curtis McKee has ordered Hoyt to be tested for drugs once every week until this case is over. Sources say Hoyt will take his first test today. If he fails, he could be sent to jail in violation of his $25,000 bond.

Hoyt’s attorney, Howard Frank, said of the marijuana: “My concerns right now are limited to the charges that are pending, and those are related strictly to the pills (Hoyt) allegedly had with him when he came into the United States.”

Hoyt was arrested at the San Ysidro border with nearly 500 pills in his possession. Most of the pills were Valium, but others were similar to Quaaludes. Hoyt faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail and a $250,000 fine if convicted.