Elijah Dukes, a former major league baseball player and aspiring Hip-Hop artist, was apprehended by Tampa, Florida authorities early Thursday (Feb. 23) after he attempted to swallow a small amount of pot during a traffic stop. According to TampaBayOnline, Dukes, who goes by the rap name “Fly Eli,” was pulled over during a routine traffic stop shortly after midnight. When officers approached Dukes’ orange Chevy Camaro they observed small flakes of marijuana on his shirt, the report stated. Police said Dukes was also in process of trying to swallow a bag of reefer.
The former Tampa Bay Devil Ray was charged with tampering with evidence, possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia and three counts of driving on a suspended license. Dukes was initially drafted by the Rays in 2002. He spent his last two season in the Majors with the Washington Nationals in ’08 and ’09, before attempting to start a rap career in 2011. He didn’t leave the MLB on his own accord, according to Dukes. In the past Dukes has given interviews stating that he was shunned from the league after reporting drug smuggling and drug used amongst his fellow players.
Being charged with assaulting his pregnant didn’t help, too.
