Huish Pleads No Contest to Selling Pot

Olympic gold medalist Justin Huish pleaded no contest Wednesday to a felony charge of selling marijuana out of his Simi Valley home.

Huish, 25, made no comments to the court after entering his plea, which, for sentencing purposes, is the same as a guilty plea. In exchange, prosecutors will push for a 180-day sentence for Huish, who could have faced a maximum of three years in prison.

Huish’s roommate, Brian Mastrangelo, 24, also appeared in court Wednesday and agreed to waive a jury trial. Judge Herbert Curtis found Mastrangelo guilty on three misdemeanor charges for allowing drug sales at the home he shared with Huish and for possessing martial arts weapons.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Carpenter said he was happy to end the case this way because neither man had a previous criminal record.

“We have two young men who have faced their responsibility and now they can go on with their lives,” Carpenter said.

He said his office refused to downgrade the felony charge against Huish, because he was the one responsible for selling the marijuana.

“Huish was more culpable,” Carpenter said.

Huish was arrested Feb. 15, 2000, after police witnessed an apparent drug deal outside the Olympian’s large Simi Valley tract home. A detective stopped a man leaving the home and found a plastic bag of marijuana in his pocket. Police said the man told Det. Blair Summey that he had just purchased the drug from Huish.

Officers served a search warrant and in the master bedroom discovered a briefcase containing several half-ounce plastic bags of marijuana, pot seeds and apparent business records.

Police said they also seized an unloaded shotgun, two scales like those used for measuring drugs, and a safe holding $23,000 in cash.

Huish originally pleaded not guilty, arguing that he was providing the marijuana for an HIV patient. But prosecutors sharply criticized that defense, arguing that state law allowed only qualified caregivers to treat patients. They argued that Huish was selling to a reported caregiver, not acting as one.

A judge agreed in August and ordered Huish to stand trial on possession and drug sale charges.

The case halted Huish’s athletic career. A double gold medalist in archery at the 1996 Olympic games, Huish quit the U.S. team last year after his arrest.

Huish told the National Archery Assn. that he did not want his case to interfere with his team’s preparation for the Sydney Games.

Carpenter said that part of the information submitted to the judge was a letter from the Olympic committee commending Huish on his decision to resign. “That in itself was a step in the right direction,” he said.

Carpenter said it was a shame to see Huish’s career affected by drugs but added that he is young enough to go on and compete.

“He’s proven he’s a champion on the archery range before and he can do it again,” Carpenter said. “But now when he goes forward, he’s got a story for the youth in the community about why not to get involved with drugs.”

Huish will return to court June 13 for sentencing.