Cowboys’ Joseph Randle arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession

Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle, a native of Wichita, was arrested at a downtown hotel on suspicion of marijuana possession, police said Wednesday.

Randle was given a notice to appear in Wichita Municipal Court after a small amount of marijuana was found in his room at the Hotel at WaterWalk at 711 S. Main, Lt. James Espinoza said.

Police went to Room 524 after a 22-year-old woman called 911 shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday to report she had been in a fight with a 23-year-old man in the room and a weapon was involved, Espinoza said.

Officers did not find a weapon when they arrived, but they learned that another man who had been there took a handgun with him, Espinoza said.

“They have a child together,” Espinoza said of Randle and the woman who called 911. “She was there so he could visit the child.”

The woman who called 911 was not injured, Espinoza said.

Investigators are taking a closer look at what happened in the hotel to see whether potential charges linked to domestic violence are warranted, Espinoza said.

The incident report listed the amount of marijuana as one gram. Randle was given a notice to appear in court in about three weeks, Espinoza said.

Randle’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, disputed the use of the term “arrest” on Twitter.

“Joseph Randle was NOT arrested,” Burkhardt tweeted. “He was cited with a ticket, and the police officer then left his hotel room.

“There was zero ‘violence’ of any kind, domestic or otherwise. He was asking 3 ppl to exit his room, who didn’t want to leave. It was loud. Cops were called. Ticket issued. People and officer left. He went to bed.”

But Espinoza said a notice to appear is an arrest, and Randle’s name appears on the police department’s list of people arrested Tuesday.

The Cowboys have not issued a statement in response to the arrest, said Rich Dalrymple, director of public relations for the team.

Despite Burkhardt’s tweet that it was loud in the hotel room, there were no complaints made to hotel staff prior to the arrival of police, said Christine Allen, general manager of the Hotel at WaterWalk.

“It really wasn’t a big deal,” Allen said. “There weren’t any noise complaints.”

In October, Randle was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting a two-pack of Polo underwear worth $39.50 and a tester bottle of Gucci Guilty Black cologne valued at $84 at a Dillard’s Department Store in Frisco, Texas.

Randle graduated from Wichita Southeast High before playing at Oklahoma State.

This story was originally published February 4, 2015 at 11:05 AM with the headline "Cowboys’ Joseph Randle arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession."