updated 7:46 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 2007

SHREVEPORT, La. - Former Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possessing marijuana.

Carter entered the plea Wednesday in state district court, Caddo Parish Assistant District Attorney Brian Barber said Thursday.

Judge Charles Scott fined Carter $300, put him on six months’ unsupervised probation and suspended a 30-day jail term.

Carter was arrested last month when he and his car matched the descriptions in a report of suspicious activity allegedly involving marijuana at a gas station, Barber said. Carter passed a sobriety test, Barber said, but, when asked if he had marijuana, turned over 3 grams. That’s about the weight of three packets of artificial sweetener.

Shreveport police originally booked Carter with second-offense possession, a felony, because of a Dec. 15, 2006 arrest on marijuana possession charges in Irving, Texas. But the Texas case has not been tried, so the Louisiana charge was changed to first offense, a misdemeanor, Barber said.

“Had they prosecuted him on his prior marijuana charge last year, the Louisiana marijuana charge would have been a felony,” he said.

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The 30-year-old Carter has not played in the NFL since 2004, when he appeared in seven games for the New York Jets. He was a second-round pick out of Georgia by the Cowboys in 2001 and started all 16 games for Dallas in 2003.

Carter has passed for 6,337 yards and 32 touchdowns in 38 games during his four NFL seasons. He also rushed for 518 yards and three touchdowns.

Last season, he played for the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings of the AF2 league.

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