GA Drug Charges for Former NC D-Back Chris Hawkins

Chris Hawkins, a former North Carolina defensive back who is accused of buying University of Georgia receiver A.J. Green’s jersey, is facing felony drug charges in Georgia. Hawkins was arrested by Georgia State Patrol officers last year for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and felony trafficking of cocaine.

(Last week, the NCAA suspended A.J. Green for four games after he sold his Independence Bowl jersey to Hawkins for $1,000. Hawkins agreed to buy Green’s jersey after the men exchanged messages on Facebook. Hawkins claims he did not know the purchase violated NCAA rules.)

Atlanta criminal defense attorneys following the case have found from police reports that Hawkins was pulled over by a Georgia State Patrol officer while driving a U-haul moving truck on I-20 near Madison, Ga., about 60 miles east of Atlanta. He was cited for driving without wearing a seat belt, and officers later discovered a small amount of marijuana in his pocket.

(Continued…)

When Hawkins refused to allow officers to search the contents of the truck, a drug-sniffing dog indicated drugs were in the back of the box truck. Officers discovered a paper sack containing a baseball-sized amount of base cocaine, which weighed about three ounces and was covered in peanut butter and pepper.

After twenty days in the Morgan County Detention Center, Hawkins was released on $50,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Morgan County Superior Court on the 18th of October.

Georgia officials are hoping the NCAA will reduce Green’s four-game suspension, which would require him to miss Saturday’s home against No. 12 Arkansas at Sanford Stadium and next week’s game at Mississippi State.

Source: ESPN “Chris Hawkins faces drug charges” 9/15/2010