SNOWBOARDERS RELEASED FROM JAIL

MINDEN, NEV. - Two international snowboarders arrested on marijuana
charges were released from jail on Wednesday, and were told to return next
month to face charges.

- - Michael Kildevaeld, 31, and Frederic Brett Tippie, 29, dressed in red
jail clothing and wearing leg and wrist shackles, were accompanied by their
lawyers in a brief appearance before Justice of the Peace James EnEarl.

- - Tippie's lawyer, John Routsis, and Kildevaeld's lawyer, Scott Freeman,
requested a continuance of Wednesday's scheduled proceeding because they
had not had time to read the arrest files.

- - EnEarl rescheduled the hearing for April 8 and granted a defense motion
to release the pair on their own recognizance. In return, Kildevaeld and
Tippie signed a waiver agreeing not to fight extradition to Nevada if they
fail to appear in court on that date and an arrest warrant is issued.

- - ``I'll be back,'' Tippie told the judge.

- - The district attorney's office did not oppose their release or the
postponement.

- - Kildevaeld, a member of Denmark's Olympic snowboarding team, and Tippie,
of Canada, were arrested on drug charges Saturday after a sheriff's deputy
stopped their car for traveling 83 mph in a 55 mph zone south of here.

- - Another passenger, American snowboarder Anton Pogue of Hood River, Ore.,
was asleep and was not arrested.

- - A drug-sniffing dog found about two grams of suspected marijuana and a
pipe inside the vehicle.

- - Each was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and
misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

- - Tippie also was charged with being under the influence of a controlled
substance, a felony. Kildevaeld, who holds Danish citizenship but listed
his address as Centerville, Mass., had additional misdemeanor charges of
driving under the influence and speeding, according to court documents.

- - Outside the courtroom, their lawyers said while the first-time drug
offense carries mandatory probation, a conviction could effectively kill
their snowboarding careers.

- - ``If he has a drug conviction, he becomes undesirable and would not be
allowed back into the United States,'' Routsis said of his client.

- - ``The stakes are very high for two grams of marijuana,'' Freeman said.
``They're very much worried about their careers being destroyed. If they're
convicted of a felony, they become felons and their careers are over.''

- - Kildevaeld and Tippe were within two miles of the California state line
when they were arrested. Had they been stopped there, the marijuana
possession charges would have been misdemeanors, the lawyers said.

- - ``Marijuana is no joke in Nevada, that's for sure,'' Freeman said.

- - The arrests mark the second marijuana-related controversy in the sport of
snowboarding.

- - Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati was temporarily stripped of his
Olympic goal medal last month when a drug test revealed traces of marijuana
in his system. An appeals panel reinstated the medal and Rebagliati said
traces of the drug in his test came from inhaling secondhand smoke at a party.

- - Kildevaeld finished 15th in the men's giant slalom at Nagano.

- - Tippie, who didn't compete in the Olympics, was 31st in the snowboarding
world championships in Italy a year ago.