Marinovich Trouble Grows by Degrees : Football: Suspended USC quarterback found with marijuana when arrested for cocaine possession, police say.

Todd Marinovich was carrying a substance suspected to be marijuana when he was arrested for possession of cocaine early Sunday morning in Balboa, Newport Beach police said Monday.

Newport Beach Sgt. Andy Gonis said police found four-tenths of a gram of what allegedly was marijuana in Marinovich’s pants pocket.

Marinovich, USC’s starting quarterback for much of the past two seasons, is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 11 at Harbor Municipal Court in Newport Beach.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office will determine by then whether to file charges for possession of either or both substances or dismiss the case. If found guilty of possession of cocaine, a felony, Marinovich could be sentenced to jail for up to a year. Marijuana possession is a misdemeanor.

Gonis said police will request a charge of possession of marijuana and cocaine when sending their report to the district attorney’s office.

Marinovich, 21, and three other USC athletes were stopped in Balboa near the home of Trudi Fertig, Marinovich’s mother, at 4:15 a.m. Sunday. A police report listed the others, who were not arrested, as Adam Swaney, Don Gibson and Marc Fertig, Marinovich’s cousin.

Swaney was cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Frank Gibson said Monday his younger son Craig was with the group, not Don, one of the Trojans’ best defensive players. Don Gibson was in the Bay Area for the East-West Shrine football game at the time of the incident.

Craig Gibson is a freshman center from Orange and Swaney a freshman defensive tackle from Roseville, Calif. Fertig, of Irvine, was a walk-on junior varsity baseball player at USC.

“Being out until 4 in the morning and drinking beer is not the way to go, and he’s (Craig) very remorseful about the whole thing,” Frank Gibson said.

Gibson said Craig was carrying Don’s identification and showed it to police who stopped the group as they were walking and talking loudly in the middle of a street in the quaint bayside neighborhood.

The four told police they were returning from a party.

Gonis said Monday that a gram of white powder found in Marinovich’s waistband was positively identified as cocaine. He said Marinovich was not tested because officers did not think he was under the influence of the drug at the time of the arrest.

Sunday’s incident is the latest in the Marinovich saga.

Marinovich was indefinitely suspended from the USC football team Jan. 11 for missing a mandatory players meeting and failing to register for classes before the start of the spring semester.

He had been considering his prospects as a professional after a tumultuous sophomore season. But last Friday he met with USC Coach Larry Smith in an attempt to reconcile differences.

Marinovich also was suspended for a week during the season for missing class and was involved in a shouting match with Smith after being replaced by Shane Foley in the fourth quarter of the Trojans’ 17-16 loss to Michigan State in the John Hancock Bowl at El Paso.

Marinovich was expected to be an All-American candidate after an impressive freshman season in which he led USC to the Pacific 10 Conference title and a Rose Bowl victory over Michigan.

He started 11 of 13 games last season for USC, which was 8-4-1 and ranked 20th.

Marinovich’s NFL chances were questioned by some football experts because of past problems. A sports agent said Monday that the arrest complicates the situation should Marinovich decide to enter the draft.

“All this stuff--getting kicked off the team, Coach Larry Smith’s public comments and now the cocaine arrest--hurts him,” said the agent, who asked not to be identified.

“Teams thinking of drafting him now have to think much further than the ability issue. All of his problems go to the character issue. Drafting 300-pound defensive linemen who can rush the passer is simply that: 300-pound linemen who rush the passer. There isn’t another position on a football team which requires more book learning, leadership, the need to think clearly under great stress than the quarterback.

“Most of us thought off of his (Marinovich’s) performance in 1989 that if he played three or four years at SC he would ultimately be the No. 1 pick in the draft. If the draft were held tomorrow, he’d be no better than a special-case mid-rounder with the team picking him taking a chance. Special case in that things would have to be worked into the contract regarding (drug) testing, etc.

“Due process still has to be served here and he is innocent until proven guilty. But, once arrested on a cocaine charge, one wears the badge maybe for the rest of his life.”

Times Orange County sports editor Herb Stutz contributed to this story.