May 25, 2013
News 12 First at Five / Friday, Aug. 31, 2012
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The coach of the late MMA Fighter Tyrone "Teesta" Mims faced a judge Friday. Prosecutors say he was caught selling marijuana.
Chris Hauser, 34, was just recently charged and booked, but prosecutors say it happened back in May.
The judge granted him a $25,000 on each of two counts of selling marijuana and $5,000 bond on each of two counts for using a communication device during a felony.
"It's not what happens to you, it's how fast you get back up," said Bart Weeks, co-owner of Augusta Fight Club.
They are words the MMA fighter would live by in the gym, but words with renewed meaning as he fights for his innocence in a courtroom.
Weeks told News 12, "He is a good guy, I've known him my whole life. He's my best friend, co-owner of the gym with me at Augusta Fight Club, can't say enough good things about him."
But, a prosecutor across from Hauser had plenty to say, too.
Hauser is accused of selling pot back in May. Prosecutors say it happened twice, about $200 worth each time.
They say the drug deal was set up over the phone. They agreed to meet, but what he didn't know was that he was meeting with an undercover investigator.
"I don't know too much about the charges, I mean I know him as a friend, I didn't really know he was doing that and I don't condone that, the gym doesn't condone the charges," Weeks said.
It's the gym Hauser co-owns with Weeks, one of more than a dozen people who showed up to support the MMA fighter. The fight club is in the middle of filming a reality TV show called "Georgia Boys Grits N Glory."
"We're a close group of friends and we're like family and when one family members gets hurt or down, everybody comes for him," Weeks said.
It's the same group coming together once again just less than a month after losing a friend during a match. Mims died earlier this month during his amateur debut.
In Hauser's latest battle, he'll be defending himself alongside an attorney, fighting perhaps his biggest fight yet -- keeping himself out of jail.
His friends plan to help him post bond by the end of the day.
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