A former player for the Chicago Bears announced through his attorney that he is planning to enter a guilty plea for the drug charges that were brought against him in connection to a 2011 investigation. Sam Hurd has not entered the plea yet, so he is still scheduled to stand trial next week.
The former professional football player was arrested two years ago out of a steakhouse in the Chicago area, after allegedly making a deal to purchase a large amount of marijuana and cocaine each week for the purpose of distribution.
Shortly after that incident, the Chicago Bears decided to end his contract with the team. This is one example of how criminal allegations of any kind can affect one’s employment situation, since some employers do not wait to find out if the person actually committed a crime or not and simply terminate the person for being accused.
After the initial charges were filed, which contained six federal drug counts, prosecutors revised the case down to only one drug count that covered broader behavior. The current charge is for a drug conspiracy and it carries a potential sentence of 10 year to life in prison, along with fines that could be as high as $10 million. Since the player is planning to enter a guilty plea he will likely end up serving a shorter sentence.
Two other men were arrested and charged as a part of the same investigation and both decided to enter guilty pleas rather than go to trial.
Source: Chicago Tribune, “Plea deal ‘in the works’ again for ex-Bear Hurd,” Jared S. Hopkins, April 9, 2013.
Information about drug charges can be found on our Chicago criminal defense page.