A former NBA star was driving more than 110 mph through a central Las Vegas Valley freeway and failed multiple sobriety tests while smelling of marijuana, according to his arrest report.
Lamar Odom, 46, was [arrested](https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/ex-nba-star-arrested-on-suspicion-of-dui-speeding-3608774/) by the Nevada Highway Patrol early Saturday morning on suspcion of driving while impaired, driving at least 41 mph over the speed limit and failing to maintain his travel lane or conducting an improper lane change.
Odom played 14 NBA seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks. He has previously been public about his struggles with drugs and alcohol.
High speed chase
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Shortly after 2:15 a.m. on Saturday, a trooper said they saw a black Dodge Durango SUV driving roughly 90 mph north on the I-15 south of Russell Road. As Odom passed the trooper, he slowed down before accelerating to about 105 mph, the arrest report said.
The trooper tried to catch up to the SUV, but said “as my patrol vehicle reached 110 mph, the distance between the Durango and my patrol vehicle was still increasing,” according to the arrest report.
As the trooper approached Tropicana Avenue with lights and siren activated, police said, Odom changed lanes without signalling. Odom then began alternating his turn signals left and right without changing lanes, the report said.
The trooper said Odom was “seemingly unaware that I was directly behind (him) with my emergency lights and siren activated, though the vehicle had slowed.”
Odom then activated his right turn signal and came to a stop just north of the Spring Mountain Road offramp on the I-15, the report said.
‘Overwhelming’ marijuana smell
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The trooper said they observed Odom and an unidentified male passenger both having “red, yellow hued bloodshot watery eyes.” The trooper added to Odom’s arrest report, “I could smell the overwhelming odor of Marijuana emanating from the vehicle.”
Asked about the last time he smoked marijuana, Odom told the trooper his passenger was smoking it and said he doesn’t smoke, the arrest report said.
Odom told the trooper that he was calling his manager on the phone and was almost home after driving from Los Angeles before looking for his license, registration and insurance, the arrest report said.
While making small talk with the trooper, Odom described his own driving as being like he was in the movie “Back to the Future,” according to the arrest report.
When the trooper asked Odom to step out of the SUV, Odom released the brake while still in drive, and the vehicle moved forward, the arrest report said.
The trooper took Odom to a patrol vehicle to conduct field sobriety tests and, noticing the smell of marijuana coming from Odom, asked him again the last time he used the drug, according to the arrest report. Odom estimated it was around 4 p.m. on Friday, the report said. Asked when he last consumed alcohol, Odom told the trooper he does not drink, his arrest report said.
Sobriety test failures
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When Odom did a series standardized field sobriety tests, the trooper noted multiple failures that were indicative of drug use in Odom’s arrest report.
Troopers said Odom could not to converge his eyes on two passes, failed a finger-to-nose test on all six attempts and failed a balancing test.
During a walk and turn test, police said, Odom lost balance while being instructed on how to complete the test, began the test too soon, stepped off the line, did not walk heel to toe, did not take enough steps and briefly stopped doing the test after losing balance.
After the finger-to-nose test, the trooper told Odom they suspected he was impaired and asked him if he was willing to continue the tests, according to the arrest report.
“Odom stated that he did not have a choice and I assured him that he did,” the trooper wrote. “Odom stated that due to his celebrity he had to do them. I explained that they were voluntary and that he could refuse.”
The trooper arrested Odom shortly after 2:35 a.m. and discovered a large sum of cash in his left front pants pocket, the arrest report said. Odom later consented to an evidentiary blood draw at the Clark County Detention Center around 3:30 a.m., the report said.
A status check for Odom’s charges is scheduled for March 17, online court records show.
Contact Spencer Levering at [slevering@reviewjournal.com](mailto:slevering@reviewjournal.com) or 702-383-0253.