Former Tech Football Player Charged With Drug Trafficking

A former Georgia Tech football player is wearing a different uniform after being arrested and charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses earlier this week.

Reuben Houston, now 32, played cornerback for the Yellow Jackets and was also an all-ACC triple jumper for the university’s track team. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006 but was released after four months with the organization. Since then, he has begun a career in rap under the stage name “Rico Richie.”

On Wednesday, Houston was arrested and charged with marijuana trafficking, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm while violating the Controlled Substances Act, Fulton County jail records show. WSB-TV reports that police found around 11 pounds of marijuana inside a recording stuido Houston and four other people were using at the time.

Houston has faced drug charges before; his Wikipedia page reports that in 2005, he was charged with conspiracy to distribute 94 pounds of marijuana and was sentenced to probation in 2006. Later that year, he was arrested for possession of over 20 grams of marijuana and served 11 months in prison. In 2010, Houston spent time in the Cobb County jail.

Houston’s defense attorney tells WSB-TV that he is confident about his client’s chances in a trial.