This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A former Utah State University football player pleaded guilty this week to a weapons offense and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Christopher Steven Copier, 24, entered his pleas for the second- and third-degree felonies, respectively, in 1st District Court on Monday, and his sentencing is set for Jan. 30.
As part of a plea agreement, five other counts of possession with intent to distribute were dismissed in this case, and one count of distribution of a controlled substance, a third-degree felony, was dismissed in a separate case.
Copier faces up to 15 years in prison for the possession charge and up to five years in prison for the weapons offense.
Charging documents accused Copier of possessing several drugs, including ecstasy, the amphetamine Adderall, hallucinogenic mushrooms and marijuana.
Copier was an Aggie tight end when he was arrested in April and was suspended from the team, USU athletics spokesman Doug Hoffman said on April 11, the day charges were filed.
The Cache-Rich Drug Task Force bought drugs from Copier on multiple occasions, Logan police Capt. Tyson Budge said in April. A few days before charges were filed, officers stopped him in a vehicle and allegedly found a quarter-pound of marijuana and 46 ecstasy pills in the car.
When police searched his home in northwestern Logan, officers found a handgun, about $1,600 in cash and more drugs, including marijuana, mushrooms and Xanax, Budge said. The Xanex was "all packaged up for sale," Budge added.
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