Written by Jermaine “Huggy” Hopkins, one of the teenage stars who went toe-to-toe with Morgan Freeman’s hard-nosed principal in the inspirational 1989 movie Lean on Me, has been busted for selling weed in Phoenix.
Hopkins was swept up in a sting conducted by undercover detectives from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office when he engaged them in a drug deal involving 200 pounds of marijuana he had in his SUV along with $100,000 cash. Once the deal was complete, police subsequently pulled the 38-year-old over in his vehicle and took him into custody. Hopkins was booked into jail on two felony counts of possessing, transporting and trying to sell marijuana.
A subsequent search of his apartment in nearby Avondale also turned up another 100 pounds, its value was estimated at $50,000. According to authorities, Hopkins actually lives in North Carolina but made Arizona his place of (illicit) business. Now it looks he may be a permanent resident as he remains holed up in the county jail in lieu of $35,000 bond.
The actor’s other film credits include 1993′s Juice as well as stints on the mid-’90s sitcoms The Wayans Brothers and Moesha and episodes of Murder One and Law & Order: SVU. His rep could not be reached for comment, but if he’s convicted of the charges, Hopkins could face up to fifty years in prison.
