Former North Carolina basketball player P.J. Hairston is in trouble with the law again. The Greensboro native, whose troubled career with the Tar Heels ended in 2013 when he was suspended for NCAA violations, was arrested on an outstanding warrant in Wrightsville Beach on Wednesday. Hairston was picked up after a man driving his car was stopped by police following a disturbance at a Wings beach supplies store. Wrightsville Beach police chief Dan House told television station WECT in Wilmington that Hairston was not in the car at the time, but that after the driver identified the Hairston as the car’s owner, a routine registration check turned up a warrant against him out of Orange County for harassing communication. House said that Hairston was later arrested without incident. Hairston’s previous run-ins with the law include a 2013 arrest for misdemeanor marijuana possession and driving without a license. In July 2014, he was charged with assault and battery following an altercation during a pickup game in Durham and a year later was cited by Charlotte police for driving with a revoked license, speeding, driving left of center and having expired tags. A 6-foot-6 guard who averaged 14.6 points and 4.3 rebounds as a sophomore for UNC in 2012-13, Hairston joined the Texas Legends of the NBA’s Development League after his college eligibility was revoked for using rental cars linked to convicted felon and Durham party promoter Haydn “Fats” Thomas. The following year, he became the first D-League player ever selected in the NBA draft when he became the first round draft pick of the Miami Heat. Hairston was subsequently traded to the Charlotte Hornets, for whom he played 93 games over two seasons. He most recently played for the Rio Grande Vipers of the D-League, but was suspended in March for violating the terms of the league’s anti-drug program.
