Former Pioneer High School assistant football coach Vincent Wortmann was arrested for marijuana possession while he was vacationing in Florida last November, records show.
The arrest occurred on Nov. 11, 2011, one day before Pioneer played Detroit Catholic Central in a Division 1 MHSAA playoff game. Wortmann was on then-Pioneer head coach Paul Test’s staff as a defensive secondary coach for the 2011 season, though he said his assignment with the team ended at the end of the regular season.
Wortmann declined comment when asked if he disclosed the arrest to anyone at Ann Arbor Public Schools or PCMI, the third party hiring service used by the district to contract athletic coaches not otherwise employed in the district, prior to the 2012 season.
Test said Wortmann never told him of the arrest, but declined further comment when reached this week by AnnArbor.com. Wortmann was Pioneer's secondary coach in 2011 and promoted to co-defensive coordinator this year.
Vincent Wortmann
Photo courtesy of Osceola County Sheriff's Office
Wortmann’s shove set off a massive fight between the teams, but the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office opted not to charge Wortmann for his role in the brawl, ruling that there was insufficient evidence that Wortmann was not acting in legal defense of Test.
The charges against Wortmann in the Florida drug possession case were dismissed, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records, on March 1, 2012.
According to an arrest report from the Osceola County Sherriff’s office, Wortmann, 44, was in possession of about eight grams of marijuana at the time of his arrest and was originally charged with possession of cannabis under 20 grams, a first degree misdemeanor.
Bernie Presha, detective for the ninth judicial circuit court in Florida said it’s fairly common to have such cases dismissed because of the high volume of similar cases there. He said Wortmann cooperated with officers and posted bond.
Court records do not reveal why the case was dismissed.
“Sometimes, if it’s just simple possession, they’ll just dismiss it," he said. "... (They) don’t always explain why."
He added: “They probably felt that taking that kind of thing to a jury is just a waste of time. It was certainly enough for the police officer to arrest him, but we’re not going to prosecute."
According to the arrest report, a police officer detected the smell of marijuana while walking past a slightly ajar room door at a Motel 6 in Kissimmee, Fla. while on foot patrol. The officer looked inside the room and saw what he thought to be marijuana. Wortmann came to the door when the officer knocked and acknowledged it was his marijuana the officer had seen. He also forfeited a sandwich bag of pot that was in his suitcase to the officer, according to the report.
Wortmann told the officer he had bought the marijuana on the beach while on vacation.
Wortmann was hired by PCMI in August 2011. Coaches hired through PCMI need to have contracts renewed on an annual basis. According to Pioneer varsity basketball coach Rex Stanczak - also contracted through PCMI - the initial hiring process with PCMI is extensive, while renewal isn’t as lengthy.
Huron athletic director Dottie Davis said she was not sure if there is specifically a question on the form about being arrested during the reapplication process.
AAPS director of communications Liz Margolis declined to comment when asked if Wortmann disclosed the arrest to the district or PCMI, or whether he would be required to do so when reapplying.
“The District works closely with third party contractors to make certain that any contract employees who have contact with children or are in our buildings or on our grounds are not a threat to or a danger to children or staff,” Margolis said in a statement. “To that end the District adheres to the requirements set forth in the School Safety Legislation, hiring guidelines set forth by the (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) and any other applicable laws, and or Board Policies. The District will not comment on specific individuals.”
There was no record of the arrest in Wortmann's personnel file with the district, reviewed by AnnArbor.com following a Freedom of Information request.
Representatives with PCMI have not responded to multiple phone calls and emails seeking comment.
Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.