Simi Police Issue Arrest Warrant for Archer Who Won Olympic Gold in ’96

Olympic gold medalist Justin Huish, a Moorpark College dropout who dominated the archery competition during the 1996 Games, is set to be arrested today on suspicion of possessing marijuana for sale, authorities confirmed late Wednesday.

Arrest warrants for Huish, 25, and his roommate, 24-year-old Brian Mastrangelo, were issued Wednesday, said Simi Valley Police Lt. Gordon Weeks.

They will be allowed to surrender during a court hearing scheduled for this morning at the Ventura County Government Center, Weeks said.

Narcotics detectives, who have been investigating Huish and Mastrangelo for nearly a month, agreed to allow them to surrender after negotiations with a defense attorney, Weeks said.

“A lot of times when there is an attorney of record and we know the arrest warrant is going to be issued and we are working with that attorney,” such arrangements are made, Weeks said. “Unless it’s a public safety issue, there isn’t a real need to go out and arrest.”

Authorities say the two men were selling pot from a two-story tract home they share in the 1700 block of Chaps Court, a new housing development on the city’s east side.

Mastrangelo, who answered his door Wednesday night, said his roommate was not home and declined to comment.

Weeks said detectives were tipped to the alleged drug sales earlier this month and served a search warrant at the house Feb. 15.

During the search, officers said they seized 4.5 ounces of marijuana and 4.2 grams of hashish oil, a drug made from the resin of marijuana. The value of the drugs was estimated by police at $2,300.

Additionally, detectives seized scales, packaging materials and ledgers as well as $23,000 in cash, they said.

Huish was taken into custody and transported to the Simi Valley police station, but was released several hours later that day, Weeks said, adding that Mastrangelo was not home and was never arrested.

“We released [Huish] pending further investigation,” Weeks said. Police at the time were “trying to figure out which one of them or if both were guilty of this.”

But a written statement released earlier Wednesday by Simi Valley Police Sgt. Bob Gardner said evidence found during the Feb. 15 search implicated both men in the narcotics activity. Gardner could not be reached for additional comment Wednesday night.

Huish’s scheduled arrest is just the latest round in legal woes for the Simi Valley High School graduate, a champion athlete whose grunge chic during the 1996 Olympic Games caught the nation’s fancy.

During the competition--in which Huish won an individual gold medal and helped the U.S. claim the team gold--he sported a ponytail, sunglasses and an earring.

But three years before the games, in 1993, Huish pleaded no contest to vandalism for spray-painting the property of an African American couple, whose mailbox and driveway were initialed with the letters “KKK.”

He had originally been charged with vandalism and a civil rights violation. During his plea, Huish said he was drunk at the time.

He was sentenced to three years’ probation and 120 hours of community service. He also paid $100 in restitution and agreed at the time not to possess alcoholic beverages.

After returning from the Olympics, Huish in August 1996 returned to court to have his conviction expunged from his record. He also was a special guest that year at an anti-drug rally at Simi Valley High.

He faded from the public spotlight for a couple of years before briefly gaining fame again last year when Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis credited Huish for getting her interested in archery.

Davis contacted Huish in 1996 and went to his parents’ house in Simi Valley to learn how to shoot. After realizing she was interested in archery for more than recreation, Huish advised Davis to find a coach.

Davis, 42, qualified for the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic archery trials last year in Bloomfield, N.J., but failed to make the Olympic team.