Thread: Sam Hurd Arraigned Today................

Updated: January 17, 2012, 7:55 PM ET
Arraignment set for Sam Hurd

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ESPNChicago.com

An arraignment date of Jan. 25 has been set for former Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas.


Hurd, who is set to appear before Judge Jorge A. Solis at the U.S. Courthouse in Dallas, was indicted in early January on federal drug conspiracy and possession charges after he and another man were accused of trying to establish a drug-dealing network.


The indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Dallas accuses Hurd, cut by the Bears after his arrest in December during an undercover drug sting, and codefendant Toby Lujan of single counts of cocaine possession and conspiracy to possess cocaine. It also seeks forfeiture of $88,000 in cash by Lujan and a 2010 Cadillac Escalade by Hurd.


Hurd remained free on $100,000 bond. Both could be sentenced to 10 years to life in prison if convicted of conspiracy and up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the possession count.


The 26-year-old Hurd, a San Antonio resident who now lives in the Chicago area, was arrested Dec. 14 outside a Chicago steakhouse after authorities said he agreed to buy a kilogram of cocaine from an undercover agent. The Bears cut the former Dallas Cowboys receiver Dec. 16, two days after his arrest.


According to court documents, a confidential informant told federal Homeland Security investigators last July that a man, now identified as the 26-year-old Lujan, was trying to arrange purchase of cocaine for an unidentified man, later identified as Hurd.


The complaint said Hurd was arrested outside a Chicago steakhouse after allegedly telling an undercover agent that he was interested in buying five to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute in the Chicago area.


Hurd told the agent a "co-conspirator is in charge of doing the majority of the deals" while he focused on "higher-end deals," the complaint said. He agreed to pay $25,000 for each kilogram of cocaine and $450 a pound for the marijuana, according to the charges, and then said he could pay for a kilo of cocaine -- about 2.2 pounds -- after "he gets out of practice." He walked out of the restaurant with the package and was arrested.


Information from ESPNChicago.com's Michael C. Wright and The Associated Press was used in this report.