Former South Carolina basketball standout Carlos Powell was arrested and jailed Saturday night on gun and alcohol charges in his Florence hometown after police found a pistol and a bottle of vodka in a car driven by Powell’s cousin, current USC player Sam Muldrow.
Powell, No. 6 on the Gamecocks’ career scoring list, was booked on charges of unlawful carrying of a pistol and having an open container in a vehicle, according to the Florence County sheriff’s department.
Powell, 24, was arrested around 8 p.m. Saturday and released shortly before noon Sunday, according to the sheriff’s department’s Web site.
Muldrow, a freshman forward from Florence, was not charged in the incident.
According to an incident report, a Florence police officer stopped Muldrow and Powell after hearing loud music coming from their car and noticing the taillights were not illuminated on Powell’s Chevrolet Caprice.
After the officer smelled marijuana, Powell told him there was no pot in the vehicle but someone had been smoking pot in the car recently, the report stated. Before police searched the car, Powell told authorities he had a gun under the passenger seat.
Besides the unloaded pistol, police found a half-full bottle of Grey Goose vodka under Powell’s seat. Powell said the liquor was his, left over from a party the previous night, according to the report.
Muldrow, 19, who was driving on a beginner’s permit, was issued a warning for the defective taillights.
USC media relations director Steve Fink said Gamecocks coach Darrin Horn was aware of the situation, calling it an “internal matter” that Horn is handling.
Attempts to reach Powell and Muldrow, whose mothers are sisters, were unsuccessful.
In the USC media guide, Muldrow lists Powell as his biggest role model.
The 6-foot-7 Powell was the fourth-leading scorer in the NBA’s Development League this past season, averaging 22.5 points per game in his first year with the Dakota Wizards in Bismarck, N.D. He lives in Columbia during the offseason.
After a stint in the Golden State Warriors’ preseason camp, Powell was a first-round pick in the NBDL draft and played in the league’s all-star game.
Powell scored 1,541 points at USC from 2001-2005 and played in 132 games, third most in school history behind former teammates Brandon Wallace and Tre’ Kelley.
Powell led the Gamecocks in scoring three consecutive seasons and was their leading rebounder two of those years.
The 6-9 Muldrow appeared in 31 games and made 10 starts at USC last season, averaging 3.1 points and 3.5 rebounds.
Reach Person at (803) 771-8496.
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