As reported by Bret Strelow of the Fayetteville Observer, the last outstanding legal issue, a speeding ticket for going 54 in a 45 in Durham County has been resolved.
Hairston, who was charged in mid-May with going 54 mph in a 45-mph zone while driving a rented 2012 Chevrolet Camaro linked to felon Haydn "Fats" Thomas, paid $203. The penalty was $15, and court costs were $188.
That case was continued twice, moving from Aug. 2 to Sept. 13 to Oct. 11
So let's review the Summer of P.J. "Crime" Spree
- Ticketed for going 54 mph in a 45 zone in Durham County. Paid $203 in fines.
- Cited for driving without a license and misdemeanor possession of marijuana: All charges dismissed after Hairston proved he actually had a license and completed a drug assessment.
Note: He was not charged with anything to do with the gun cited in the police report as being found at the scene. The gun was outside the car and never linked to anyone in the car. I know people, including former tutors, love to say Hairston was arrested for having a gun or driving around with a gun or baking cookies with a gun. He was never hit with a weapons charge so we can stop talking about the gun. - Cited for driving 93 mph in a 65-mph zone and reckless driving in Rowan County, just north of Charlotte: Pled guilty to 75 mph in a 65-mph zone and unsafe movements. He paid a $40 fine plus court costs.
So at the end of the day the Summer of P.J. was far less exciting(legally speaking) than everyone first thought. Hairston's illegal exploits boils down to a few points on his license and probably a higher insurance premium.
As was the case when Hairston's arrest popped up, the more interesting aspect has always been Hairston being behind the wheel of a rental car in two of the three incidents listed above. The cars in questions were rented by local party promoter Hadyn "Fats" Thomas and because of Hairston's run-ins with the police there is hard evidence putting the Tar Heel behind the wheel of at least two of them.
This sort of thing will prompt some kind of NCAA action which has yet to be determined. Can it be proven Hairston drove them more than twice? A reasonable assumption is he probably did but it is also a reasonable assumption Johnny Manziel got paid for his autographs but without evidence the NCAA did very little to the Texas A&M quarterback. Is there more evidence the public doesn't know about? Possibly and whatever evidence there is UNC and the NCAA will review it, come up with some sort of penalty and call it a day.
The lack of additional media stories about Hairston's situation probably means there isn't much to find out beyond what we already know. The fact Hairston, Roy Williams, Bubba Cunningham and everyone else at UNC is operating on the assumption the junior wing forward will play this season means whatever information is known to them points to some sort of suspension but nothing earth shattering. The only remaining questions are how many games and when will it be announced?
