Apparently, Chicago Bears receiver Sam Hurd's close personal proximity to Tim Tebow last Sunday in the Bears' overtime loss to the Denver Broncos did nothing to clean up Hurd's act. As reported by many sources, but perhaps in the most up-to-date fashion by Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Hurd was busted on Wednesday by undercover Homeland Security agents after attempting to set up regular purchases of marijuana and cocaine to expand a drug sale system that he already had going.
The Bears organization released a brief statement Thursday morning: "We are aware of Sam's arrest and are continuing to gather details. We are disappointed whenever these circumstances arise." The formerDallas Cowboys receiver signed a three-year, $5.1 million contract with the Bears on July 29.
According to Jensen's reports, Hurd met with an undercover Homeland Security agent on Wednesday and attempted to set up a system by which he would purchase 5-10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute in Chicago. Here's the real kicker — according to the complaint, Hurd said that he was already distributing four kilos of cocaine per week in the greater Chicago area with a co-conspirator, but that this amount wasn't enough.
The agent in question believes that Hurd has 21 possible violations of federal statute in a timeline that goes from July of this year through last night. The complaint, which can be seen at the Dallas Morning News' website, relates the agent's statement that Hurd was willing to pay $25,000 per kilogram of cocaine and $450 per pound of marijuana. The statement also says that when Hurd's co-conspirator (identified as "T.L.") met with the agent on July 27, he had a bag in his vehicle which contained $88,000 in cash.
The money was in a white bag that was "covered in a green, leafy, plant-like material that field-tested positive for the properties of marijuana." The agent related in the complaint that Hurd's co-conspirator said the money belonged to Hurd, and that Hurd frequently left large amounts of money in his vehicle. Hurd later confirmed to the agent by telephone that the money was his.
"T.L." bought five kilos of cocaine from the agent on August 14, apparently on Hurd's behalf. And that transaction trips off a series of interactions that border on the surreal. According to the statement, the first face-to-face meeting between Hurd and the agent happened on December 14. It was then that Hurd said that "T.L." was in charge of the majority of the deals, and that Hurd focused on the "high-end" deals.
Hurd then asked the agent if Mexican cellular phones could be provided for future deals, as Hurd believed that "law enforcement did not have the capacity of 'listening to' Mexican telephones. Hurd then said that he was a member of the Chicago Bears, that his practice ended at 5:30 p.m., and that he could make arrangements to make payment for one kilogram of cocaine that the agent gave him upon completion of negotiations. When Hurd walked away with the coke, he was taken into custody.
On Thursday, the obvious and universal reaction among Hurd's teammates was shock.
"I think everyone is," linebacker Lance Briggs said. "Sam is a nice guy. Well-liked in the locker room. He was a guy we were just all getting to know. You hate to see this happen to anyone. We all make mistakes, but like I said, it's just sad to see."
"I'm not sure what is going on," linebacker Brian Urlacher added. "But you never want to hear something like this happen to one of your teammates.
"[He's a] good teammate. That's what I know of him. Outside of here, I don't know him very well, but he comes to work every day and practices hard and plays hard. Always been really friendly. Says 'Hi' in the hallway every time you walk by him --I walk past him 10 times a day in the hallway and he still says 'Hi' every time. He's a good guy, from what I know of him."
Receiver Roy Williams, who played with Hurd in Dallas, took the news particularly hard.
"It's a situation that I don't want anyone to be in, especially a close friend or a teammate I've been playing with now four or five years now. Especially a guy from Texas, with a wife and daughter. It's tough for me, just cause I'm not into drugs or anything like that.
"But I know it has to be tough for him, because he has his family, and that's a choice that he made. And there are consequences with the choices that you make."
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