Jury selection in a cocaine trafficking case for a man accused of buying former University of Georgia (UGA) wide receiver A.J. Green’s Independence Bowl jersey ended Tuesday in Morgan County Superior Court.
Christopher Hawkins, 29, Kingston, N.C., faces a minimum 10-year sentence and a $200,000 fine on allegations that he transported nearly three grams of cocaine base in a U-Haul truck rented in Miami.
Hawkins, a former University of North Carolina and Marshall University football player, was arrested by the Georgia State Patrol in Morgan County on April 23, 2009, on felony charges of trafficking in cocaine and a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana.
According to court documents, Hawkins was stopped by Georgia State Patrol Trooper Ray Malone for an alleged seatbelt violation while driving the truck on Interstate 20. Hawkins refused to allow a search of the truck consequent to the stop, documents state, but a drug dog alerted on the truck. After a search of the vehicle, officers allegedly located a “baseball-sized ball of cocaine” in the truck. A warrant for Hawkins' arrest alleges that the cocaine was wrapped in a sack and further wrapped with duct tape and covered with peanut butter and pepper.
Hawkins spent 20 days at the Morgan County Detention Center before posting a $50,000 bond.
Hawkins was identified in several published reports as the person who purchased the Green jersey for $1,000. Consequently, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) declared Green “ineligible for violations of NCAA agent benefits rules” and suspended the star Georgia player for the first four games of the 2010 season.
Hawkins is represented by defense attorney Page A. Pate. Earlier, in a motion to suppress evidence, Pate argued that the truck was rented by former Washington Redskins running back Willie Parker.
“Mr. Parker told officers that he had purchased the furniture in the back of the truck and that Mr. Hawkins was delivering it to Mr. Parker’s mother’s house in North Carolina. Mr. Parker told officers that [Hawkins] was a friend of his and had agreed to move the furniture for him,” the motion reads.
Pate stated earlier that Hawkins denied any involvement trafficking cocaine.
“Chris Hawkins has consistently maintained that he was not aware there were any drugs in the back of the truck,” Pate said following Hawkins' indictment by a Morgan County Grand Jury.
Pate’s motion to suppress was denied.
Opening statements in the trial were scheduled to begin Wednesday morning. Superior Court Judge Hugh V. Wingfield III is presiding over the case.
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