Trayvon Martin, the teenager whose shooting death has sparked a national uproar, was suspended from school last month for having a baggie that contained marijuana residue in his book bag, a family spokesman said Monday.
"There was no substance found. There was a baggie that school officials believe may have formerly contained marijuana. There was no arrest or citation from the police," Ryan Julison said.
The Miami Herald reported that Martin was suspended two other times from school. The first time was for missing school or being late.
In October, Martin was suspended with friends for writing “W.T.F.” on a hallway locker, according to a school report obtained by the Herald. A security guard looking through his backpack for the graffiti marker and instead found women’s rings and earrings and a screwdriver, described by the staffer as a “burglary tool.”
Ben Crump, an attorney for Martin’s parents, told the Herald they had never heard about the bag of jewelry.
“And anyway, it’s completely irrelevant to what happened Feb. 26,” Crump told the Miami Herald. “They never heard this and don’t believe it’s true. If it were true, why wouldn’t they call the parents? Why wasn’t he arrested?”
Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, suggested in comments at a news conference that the marijuana residue report was aimed at smearing her dead child.
"They killed my son and now they're trying to kill his reputation," she said.
Toxicology test results were still pending on the body of Martin, 17, who was shot Feb. 26 inside a gated community in the central Florida city of Sanford by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Martin was visiting his father in Sanford while he was suspended by Miami-Dade schools. He was unarmed.
Zimmerman has not been charged in Martin's death and claims self-defense.
He told police that Martin knocked him down with a single punch and slammed his head into the sidewalk several times before he shot him, according to The Orlando Sentinel.
Report: Police report details Zimmerman, witness accounts
Martin's killing has ignited racial tensions. Martin was black; Zimmerman's father is white and his mother Hispanic.
Also Monday, Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice confirmed that Martin does not have a juvenile offender record. The information came after a public records request by The Associated Press.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Court signals it will decide constitutionality of health care mandate
- FirstRead: Hypocrisy on all sides with individual mandate
- Afghan massacre suspect's wife: 'He did not do this'
- Younger veterans want to work, but face roadblocks
- For female veterans, job opportunities limited
