Ex-Eagle's name pops up at drug trial

During a trial for an alleged drug dealer in Delaware County yesterday, two words the prosecutor said in her opening statement caught the full attention of every juror:

Correll Buckhalter.

Deputy District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland said Styles N. Beckles had told police that he sold drugs to pro athletes, including Buckhalter, a former Philadelphia Eagle, and Keita Crespina, a former Temple University football player.

The only drug mentioned in the criminal complaint against Beckles was marijuana. No charges have been filed against Buckhalter or Crespina.

Buckhalter, 30, spent eight years with the Eagles before the Denver Broncos signed him to a four-year deal last month.

"Any time you get some information like this, you have to look at the credibility" of the source, said John Rickert, Buckhalter's agent. Rickert added that Buckhalter "had absolutely no knowledge of the situation at all." The Broncos and Eagles declined to comment.

Crespina played at Lincoln High School, and later in NFL Europe and with the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. He was a volunteer defensive coach at George Washington High School in Philadelphia in the fall.

Crespina could not be reached for comment; two numbers that were registered to him were disconnected. George Washington head coach Ron Cohen declined to comment.

Beckles, 36, of Clifton Heights, is charged with drug possession and intent to deliver drugs.

During the trial, a Pennsylvania state police detective, Capt. Todd Harris, read a statement taken from Beckles. He asked Beckles how often he would sell marijuana, and how much, to the pro athletes.

Beckles said that after Soul games, "two to three guys would pick up one or two bottles" - small vials - according to the statement.

"How much would Correll Buckhalter buy?" Harris asked.

"He would buy between three to six bottles every two to three weeks when he was in town. Sometimes he would buy more if there was a special function," Beckles said in the statement.

Outside the courtroom during the lunch break, defense attorney Kevin Mark Wray said Beckles had been pressured into providing names to the police, and called the statements "coerced." Wray said his client had been denied counsel when taken into custody April 24.

Harris also testified that he was present when a car registered to Buckhalter was seen during a drug surveillance of Beckles.

Beckles was the subject of a wiretap signed by Superior Court Judge Seamus McCaffery in December 2005, according to an affidavit. As a result of that investigation, state police obtained a search warrant of his apartment, car, and person.

When police pulled over Beckles in his silver Toyota Echo, he was found to have 115 glass vials of marijuana, the affidavit said. At his home, police allegedly found 487 glass vials of marijuana buds, digital scales, other drug paraphernalia, and more than $1,300 in cash. He was questioned but not arrested.

In April, Beckles was arrested in connection with a two-year investigation into a violent drug ring in Chester that resulted in indictments of 34 people. More than 48 pounds of cocaine valued at more than $2.1 million was seized.