Judge Drops Drug Charge Against Former NFL Star
CHICAGO (STMW) - A heroin possession charge against former NFL-record setting running back Mack Herron was dropped Tuesday -- two weeks after he told the Sun-Times he was locked up after refusing to sign an autograph for the arresting officer.
There was no probable cause for the arrest, ruled Judge Michelle Jordan -- who did not explain her decision.
"My time is short here, and I've got better things to do than be angry at two police officers who arrested me," Herron said.
Herron, a Farragut High School alum whose 2,444 all-purpose yards with the New England Patriots in 1974 shattered a record once held by Gale Sayers, was arrested May 8 near his Lawndale home when police allegedly saw him drop a packet of heroin in a vacant lot as they approached.
Herron -- nicknamed "Mini Mack" because of his short stature and strength -- has numerous drug arrests and several convictions on his record, and acknowledges past mistakes, but claims the most recent charge was bogus.
"Police picked up the heroin from somewhere else and claimed it was mine," Herron said. "And after one of the officers Googled my name and found I was a pro football player, they were excited and wanted autographs, but I didn't want to sign any autographs, so they brought me to the police station."
Herron, who says his drug problems stemmed from depression and dealing with chronic pain from football injuries, insists he's been clean since 2007.
"People will do good or bad and eventually die. ... It's just a test of people passing through this world," said Herron. "What the police says and what's in the newspaper, it don't matter to me because I know something better will come."
Herron, a devout Muslim who suffers from diabetes and is unemployed, does yard work for neighbors in the community, mostly for free, he says. He's fighting for an NFL pension, but currently lives off a monthly $600 check from Social Security.
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