Former Eagles running back Buckhalter denies drug allegations

March 19, 2009|By WILLIAM BENDER, benderw@phillynews.com
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  • Correll Buckhalter, an Eagle for 8 years, signed with Denver.
  • Correll Buckhalter, an Eagle for 8 years, signed with Denver.
  • Beckles

In 2001, Eagles coach Andy Reid suspended then-rookie running back Correll Buckhalter for one game after police caught him and two other players cruising down South Street in a Lexus SUV with marijuana smoke wafting out of the windows.

Buckhalter, who signed a 4-year contract with the Denver Broncos last month, was not charged in that incident.

But he was buying high-potency pot from a Delaware County dealer until at least 2006, according to court testimony.

Styles Beckles, 36, who was busted last year, told cops that he regularly sold marijuana called "Kush" to the injury-plagued running back, according to state police Cpl. Todd Harris, who testified yesterday at Styles' trial in Media.

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Beckles also named as a customer former Philadelphia Soul receiver/defensive back Keita Crespina - now the defensive coordinator at George Washington High School - along with three other unidentified members of the Soul, Harris said.

Neither Crespina nor Buckhalter has been charged.

Buckhalter, 30, who played eight seasons with the Eagles before signing a $10 million contract with the Broncos, denied Beckles' allegations.

"I've spoken to Correll and Correll says there's no validity to it," said J.R. Rickert, Buckhalter's agent.

Asked if Buckhalter knew Beckles, or why he would be singled out, Rickert responded, "I didn't even want to ask that question."

"Correll is aware of the [NFL's] personal-conduct policy and he says he did not put himself in violation of it," Rickert said.

A spokesman for the Broncos said the team is aware of the allegation, but had no comment.

Crespina, a former Temple University player, took offense to the courtroom accusation.

"My character is being attacked here," he said. "Ask anybody in the community about Keita Crespina . . . for now I'm going to let that stand."

After his arrest last April, Beckles told police that he bought the high-quality weed by the vial in Queens, N.Y., and sold it in the Philadelphia region, Harris said, reading from a statement that Beckles signed.

Buckhalter bought three to six vials every 2 to 3 weeks when he was in town, sometimes more "when there was a special function," according to the statement. Beckles said the last time he sold marijuana to Buckhalter was a couple of weeks before police raided his Clifton Heights apartment in February 2006.

Beckles said in the statement that he sold pot to Crespina "and three other members of the Philadelphia Soul" whose names he couldn't recall - one from Tennessee, one from Chicago.

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