Jets tight end Kellen Winslow wasn’t present in court for Thursday’s hearing, but his attorneys entered a plea of not guilty on a charge of possession of synthetic marijuana on his behalf.
Winslow’s attorneys told judge Vincent A. Pirone that a medical issue prevented Winslow from flying into New Jersey to appear before the court himself on Thursday, although Dom Cosentino of NJ.com reports they offered no specifics about the issue after the hearing. Winslow’s next court date is set for March 13 and the judge said Winslow must be present at that time.
Winslow was arrested in a parking lot outside a Target in East Hanover, New Jersey in November after police found the ersatz weed in his car. Police were sent to the scene after a woman called to report seeing a man masturbating in his car. The police did not catch Winslow engaged in any autoerotic maneuvers, but did find two containers of Vaseline in the car along with the offending synthetic marijuana.
Winslow’s publicist later issued a statement saying that Winslow was merely changing clothes in the car in order to avoid smelling like smoke when he returned home. Winslow is not expected to be suspended by the league as a result of the arrest.