Indiana Pacers forward Shawne Williams was arrested Tuesday outside Indianapolis on marijuana possession and other charges.

He is the third member of the Pacers in less than a year to be arrested, joining Jamaal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels, who face pending charges stemming from a nightclub brawl.

Shawne Williams was arrested Tuesday for marijuana possession.
(Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

Williams, 21, was charged with possession of marijuana, driving without a licence, driving with an expired licence plate, and failure to signal a lane change.

The NBA sophomore is scheduled to appear in Marion County Superior Court on Friday.

"Although the legal process needs to be followed, we will not accept Shawne putting himself in this position — regardless of innocence or guilt," Pacers president Larry Bird said in a statement.

"This was clearly a bad and unacceptable decision. We'll be meeting with Shawne at some point to discuss this, and pursue any disciplinary action we can take."

Williams was driving an SUV that police pulled over for changing lanes without signalling at 12:45 a.m. local time.

The arresting officers found a marijuana joint smouldering in the ash tray.

"The guy in the front passenger seat, Mr. [Roosevelt] Rollins, said the marijuana was his," Marion County police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Mount said. "And Mr. Williams denied knowledge of the marijuana even being in his car, even though you could, obviously, smell the odour of burnt marijuana."

Williams had no licence and, instead, handed one of the officers a Tennessee identification card.

Moreover, the SUV's licence plate had expired in July.

A passenger in the back seat was arrested for carrying a nine-millimetre handgun without a licence, and for theft because the weapon had been reported stolen in Collierville, Tenn.

Williams was drafted 17th overall out of Memphis last season and averaged 3.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 12.1 minutes in 46 NBA games (three starts) as a Pacers rookie.

With files from the Associated Press