Chargers Safety Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges

Chargers safety Terrence Kiel pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor drug charges stemming from a September arrest at team headquarters. Drug Enforcement Administration officials said that Kiel admitted to shipping at least two parcels of prescription cough syrup to Texas.

According to an affidavit for a search warrant, FedEx managers searched a package Kiel mailed with his FedEx account in June and found 15 bottles of Prometh prescription cough syrup in the box. A boarding pass found inside the box led DEA agents to an address Kiel used to register a car. Three bottles of Prometh were seized at that address.

Kiel, one of several Chargers to have run-ins with police since April, was ordered to undergo counseling for gambling and do 100 hours of volunteer work, including talking to young people about the dangers of drugs.

If he does that before his Aug. 7 sentencing and remains law-abiding, the felony conviction will be dismissed and he'll be placed on probation, said San Diego County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sontag.

Kiel still has a Feb. 20 court appearance after being cited for urinating in public last Dec. 18 in San Diego.

Kiel grew up in Lufkin, about 120 miles north of Houston, and played at Texas A&M. Kiel is making $500,000 this year, his fourth with the Chargers. Kiel his best year was 2004 when he had 97 tackles and 2 interceptions.

(AP, ESPN, NFL.com)