Pacer forward charged with marijuana possession and driving without a license

Sept. 11 (TICKER) -- Indiana Pacers forward Shawne Williams was arrested Tuesday on charges of marijuana possession and driving without a license.

Police said Williams was arrested after an officer pulled over his sports utility vehicle for making an illegal lane change.

A first-round pick out of Memphis last season, Williams was being held at Marion County Jail.

According to police, Williams was driving the SUV, which also had two other men in the vehicle. After he was pulled over, Williams rolled down the window, and police detected a strong odor of marijuana.

Pacers president Larry Bird expressed his dismay with Williams' arrest in a written statement.

"We are extremely disappointed concerning the arrest of Shawne Williams early this morning," Bird said. "Although the legal process needs to be followed, we will not accept Shawne putting himself in this position, regardless of innocence or guilt.

"We as an organization in general and our players in particular have to take into consideration our accountability to our fans in our decision-making. This was clearly a bad and unacceptable decision. We will be meeting with Shawne at some point to discuss this and pursue any disciplinary action we can take."

Both of the other passengers also were arrested.

Considered a high flyer with untapped athletic potential, the 6-9 Williams averaged 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 46 games last season.