Chargers’ Walters Pleads Innocent

Charger defensive back Danny Walters pleaded innocent Friday to charges of possessing cocaine and driving under the influence of the drug.

Municipal Judge Melinda Lasater ordered Walters to return to court Friday, when a hearing will be held to discuss Walters’ possible entry into a court-sanctioned drug diversion program. If entry into the diversion program is unsuccessful, he will face a preliminary hearing on Nov. 5.

Police stopped Walters, 25, early on the morning of Sept. 14 for allegedly driving erratically. When officers searched him, they found 1.7 ounces of cocaine in his clothing.

Walters, a starting cornerback for most of his four-year Charger career, will apply for entry into a diversion program at Friday’s hearing, defense attorney Eugene Iredale said outside court.

Walters, who remains free on his own recognizance, is eligible for the program because he has never been convicted of a drug charge, Iredale said.

Walters, who underwent drug rehabilitation at an Arizona clinic in 1984 for a cocaine problem, again entered the National Football League’s drug treatment program last month after his arrest.

The program includes counseling and unscheduled drug tests.