OREGON CITY, Ore. -- Portland Trail Blazers guard Damon Stoudamire pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a felony charge of marijuana possession, and his lawyer intends to challenge the police's warrantless search of the player's home.

"We intend to fight this all the way," attorney Stephen A. Houze said outside the Clackamas County Courthouse.

Circuit Judge John Lowe ordered Stoudamire, 28, to turn himself in at the county jail within 24 hours. Bail was set at $50,000.

A marijuana charge had been filed against Stoudamire's father, Willie, but Deputy District Attorney Steven Griffin said Tuesday that the charge had been dropped for lack of evidence.

Stoudamire and his father left the courthouse without comment before climbing into a waiting SUV. A woman handed the player a bouquet of roses and shook his hand before he got in.

The Stoudamires appeared in the same courthouse as former Trail Blazer Isaiah Rider, who was convicted of marijuana possession in 1997. Unlike the Stoudamire case, Rider was charged with having less than an ounce of the drug, a misdemeanor, and was fined $500.

On Monday, a grand jury returned an indictment against Stoudamire on a charge of possessing at least 150 grams, or about 5 ounces. That's a Class B felony, and the maximum penalty if convicted is 10 years in prison and a $200,000 fine.

The judge set a trial date of Oct. 1, right around the time NBA teams open training camp.

According to the indictment, the marijuana was found Feb. 23 at Stoudamire's home in Lake Oswego, an affluent suburb south of Portland. According to The Oregonian newspaper and several broadcast reports, two of Stoudamire's neighbors called police because his burglar alarm was sounding. A Lake Oswego Police officer arrived and found the front door open. He called for backup, and the two officers entered the home without a warrant.

No one was inside, but they found and confiscated about a pound of marijuana, The Oregonian reported. The Trail Blazers played a home game against Denver that night, and police didn't tell Stoudamire about the incident until two weeks later.

An appellate court last week threw out a case against an Oregon man arrested for having marijuana in his home in 1997. A neighbor called 911 to report that the man's front door was open and his two pit bulls were running loose. Police came and confiscated drug paraphernalia and a marijuana-growing operation.

Houze, Stoudamire's attorney, said he will use that case as precedent to ask the judge to throw out the charges against his client. A two-day hearing on the matter begins Aug. 5.

"We think the law's clear," Houze said.

Lake Oswego Police have kept a low profile since the case against Stoudamire became public on April 15. But Capt. Marc Galloway defended the officers who entered the home, saying they had to make sure no one was in danger.

Galloway said investigating officers also have a duty to seize evidence of a crime, no matter how the Stoudamire case is resolved.

"It's not going to change the way we do business," Galloway said. "We're not just going to leave drugs sitting around."

Blazers assistant general manager Mark Warkentien and two members of the team's media-relations staff attended Tuesday's brief arraingment. The team released a statement saying: "This is an unfortunate situation and a difficult time for Damon's family, friends and fans. Until all the facts are presented and a decision has been made, there isn't anything more we can say at this time."

Stoudamire was a high school star in Portland, and his supporters said several friends and family members have access to his home. Prosecutors would not go into detail about why they dropped the charges against the player's father.

This season, Stoudamire produced his best statistics since he was traded from Toronto to his hometown on Feb. 13, 1998. He averaged 13.5 points and 6.5 assists, but he shot just 5-of-22 in the Blazers' first-round playoff sweep by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Stoudamire earned nearly $12.4 million this season and has three years left on the seven-year, $81 million contract extension he signed before the 1999 lockout.