Prosecutor: Decision near on GU arrests

Police reports documenting the arrests of two Gonzaga University basketball players last week in Cheney were delivered Friday to the Spokane County prosecutor’s office.

Deputy Prosecutor John Grasso said he’ll review those reports over the weekend before deciding whether sophomore Josh Heytvelt and freshman Theo Davis will be charged with drug possession.

“I expect to have a charging decision, depending on the facts of the case, by Tuesday,” Grasso said. “It’s all dependent on the facts of the case.”

Heytvelt, 20, and Davis, 21, were arrested the night of Feb. 9 in Cheney after a city police officer stopped Heytvelt’s Chevy TrailBlazer for not having working taillights.

Both players have been suspended indefinitely from the team, which plays No. 8 Memphis today.

After the traffic stop, a Cheney officer spoke with Heytvelt as two Eastern Washington University police officers arrived. One of those EWU officers walked to the rear of Heytvelt’s vehicle and saw a bag of mushrooms in the rear cargo area of the SUV, according to court records.

One of the EWU officers then spoke with the passenger, later identified as Davis, and the officer said he smelled burnt marijuana. Both Heytvelt and Davis were asked to exit the vehicle and were placed under arrest. Officers then searched Davis and found a burnt marijuana cigarette in his pocket, records state.

Davis then stated that he had been at a party earlier in the evening in which he had “taken a hit off of a bong,” according to court records.

The officer said he saw the bag of mushrooms protruding out of a black backpack that was sitting next to a backpack that had Heytvelt’s name and jersey number embroidered on the front.

When officers searched that second backpack, they found three “brownie muffins that contained hallucinogenic mushrooms,” according to court records.

Both Heytvelt and Davis were charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.

Grasso had not yet reviewed the results from the Washington State Patrol crime lab to determine whether the bag and muffins contained hallucinogenic mushrooms.

He said nobody from Gonzaga University has contacted him to ask about the procedures.

If he decides to file charges, Grasso will send a summons to Heytvelt and Davis, who are both being represented by attorney Dennis Thompson, to appear for an arraignment to be set at a later time, he said.

Thompson did not return a call made to his office Friday.

Although Grasso technically has three years to decide whether to charge the players, he expects to make the decision next week.

“My kids play hockey, so basketball isn’t that important to me,” said Grasso, who has been inundated by phone calls inquiring about the case. “But I can’t say whether I’ll file or not because I haven’t read the reports yet.”