During a 12-day break from Rutgers spring camp, now-former redshirt freshman cornerback Edwin Lopez was arrested for operating a vehicle while in possession of a small amount of marijuana and the unlawful possession of a gun, according to a complaint obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Lopez was pulled over by a Cherry Hill police officer on March 14, according to documents obtained through an Open Public Records Act request.

Lopez was charged with knowingly possessing a handgun without obtaining a permit to carry, a second-degree offense, according to the complaint. The weapon was a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson that had its serial number defaced, according to the complaint.

Lopez was also charged with a fourth-degree offense for allegedly having the handgun concealed in the trunk of his car.

After getting dropped from Camden County Superior Court to Cherry Hill Municipal Court, the marijuana possession charge was dismissed on May 30, and two gun charges were downgraded to disturbing the peace and a $500 fine with $33 in court costs.

This previously unreported arrest came to light during a routine records check by NJ Advance Media. K.J. Gray, who was also charged Wednesday and was previously dismissed from the football program in July, also had an unrelated arrest on a drug charge come to light after being discovered by NJ Advance Media. However, two Rutgers officials said the school had no knowledge of that incident prior to Gray's dismissal.

Lopez, a 19-year old Camden native, was one of eight Rutgers football players charged Wednesday in a credit-card fraud scheme, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Rutgers University Police Department Chief Kenneth Cop said.

Lopez was charged with conspiracy to commit theft by deception, money laundering and fraudulent use of credit cards. Each of the allegations are third-degree offenses. He is scheduled to appear in Middlesex County Superior Court on September 13.

Lopez is no longer with the Rutgers football program. Multiple attempts to interview him since July have been unsuccessful. He transferred to Garden City Community College in Kansas earlier this month after getting suspended from the football program this summer.

Lopez's attorney, Troy Archie, declined requests to be interviewed, but wrote in an email: "Obviously from the records there were other people charged and Edwin's 'alleged' involvement resulted in a downgrade to municipal court. It's my position that in the event of a trial on any level, superior court or municipal court, he would have been totally exonerated.''

Archie confirmed that the gun belonged to a passenger in Lopez's car and said, "I believe if the true owner had stepped forward at the scene, Edwin never gets arrested or charged.''

According to a Rutgers official with knowledge of the situation, Lopez was suspended for the final 12 practices of spring camp while his legal case ran its course.

A 5-foot-11, 175-pound defensive back who didn't play as a true freshman last fall, Lopez was listed on the Scarlet-White Game roster on April 14 but didn't participate in the intrasquad scrimmage.

After his charges were reduced to a fine, Lopez was cleared to participate in the team's summer program, the Rutgers official said.

But Lopez was suspended from participating in Rutgers training camp once university officials had an understanding of the scope of the credit-card fraud investigation, a school official said.

NJ Advance Media reporters Zack Rosenblatt and James Kratch contributed to this report.

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.