Editing Hugh King

{{Infobox Biography
| subject_name   =Hugh Garrett King, Sr.
| image_name     =HughKing.jpg
| image_size     =150px
| image_caption  =
| date_of_birth  =[[February 6]], [[1954]]
| place_of_birth =
| date_of_death  =
| place_of_death =
| occupation     =Pastor, politician
| religion       =
| spouse         =
| parents        =
| children       =
}}
The Reverend '''Hugh Garrett King, Sr.''' (b. [[1954]]) is an African American community leader, former [[Pensacola City Council]]man and former pastor of the [[Greater Union Baptist Church]]. He was arrested on [[April 28]], [[2007]] for cocaine possession, after which he was removed as pastor. He pleaded no contest on [[January 14]], [[2008]] and received two years' probation, but is expected to appeal the legality of the search that led to his arrest.

==Political & Spiritual Career==
King entered the political arena as president of the local [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]]. He 
joined [[Movement for Change]] founder [[LeRoy Boyd]] in efforts to name a city street after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

King was elected to the [[Pensacola City Council]] in [[1999]]. On [[January 14]], [[2000]] King and the City Council voted to rename a portion of [[Alcaniz Street]] (north of [[Cervantes Street]], through the [[Eastside]] neighborhood) [[Martin Luther King Jr. Drive]].

He was installed as the fifteenth pastor of Greater Union Baptist Church in the spring of 2004 following the death of his father, Reverend [[A. J. King, Sr.]], on [[October 9]], [[2003]]. Citing the primacy of his church position, King announced he would not seek reelection to the Pensacola City Council.<ref>[http://www.inweekly.net/article.asp?artID=132 Church Comes First], Independent News, August 9, 2004.</ref> [[Jewel Cannada-Wynn]] replaced him in the 2004 election.

King played a major role in generating support for the [[Community Maritime Park]] project and was appointed to the [[Community Maritime Park Associates]] Board of Trustees. He oversaw the formation of the [[Contractor Academy]] that was established as part of the CMPA's "Covenant with the Community" to help minority contractors compete for government jobs.

On [[February 7]], [[2008]], King pre-filed to challenge [[Marie Young]] for her [[Escambia County District 3|District 3]] seat on the [[Escambia County Board of County Commissioners|Escambia County Commission]].  However, he dropped out of the race without explanation several months later.

==Controversies==
===Front Porch===
When [[Front Porch Pensacola]] community liaison [[Thelma Manley]] came under fire in early [[2007]] for alleged mismanagement of organization funds, Rev. King, a member of the Front Porch Council, came to her defense. King hosted a [[March 20]] press conference at his church, where he defended Manley of the allegations and accused Council members [[Michelle MacNeil]] and [[Melanie Nichols]] of racism.

[[Image:HughKingMugshot.jpg|thumb|right|Mugshot of Rev. King following his April 28, 2007 arrest]]
===Cocaine Possession===
In the early morning hours of [[April 28]], [[2007]] Rev. King was arrested by [[Pensacola Police Department|police officers]] who were responding to a burglary call at North [[D Street]]. The police stopped [[Mark Anthony Cotton]] and King, his passenger, several blocks away from the crime at [[A Street|A]] and [[Blount Street]]s. They were driving a light-green Ford Explorer similar in build to the gray Chevrolet Blazer described by witnesses as leaving the burglary. After an officer observed a knife covered in white powder residue on the vehicle's center console, Cotton and King were searched. A bag of cocaine, valued at around $25, was found in King's back pocket.<ref>"Hugh King charged with cocaine possession." ''Pensacola News Journal'', April 29, 2007.</ref>  Later reports stated that less than a gram of cocaine was found on King.<ref name="outpastor">"For now, King out as pastor." ''Pensacola News Journal'', May 9, 2007.</ref>

In May, Greater Union Baptist Church suspended King as pastor indefinitely.<ref name="outpastor"/>

King entered a written waiver of not guilty on one charge of cocaine possession on [[May 17]] and requested a jury trial.<ref>"Rev. King pleads not guilty." ''Pensacola News Journal'', May 17, 2007.</ref> Attorney [[Barry Baroset]] later asked Circuit Judge [[Joel Boles]] to suppress the evidence against his client, arguing that Officers [[Charles Decker]] and [[Matthew Coverdale]] illegally stopped and searched Cotton's vehicle, which he said did not closely match the Chevrolet Blazer described by robbery witnesses.<ref>"Reverend battles drug charge." ''Pensacola News Journal'', August 11, 2007.</ref> Boles denied the request, saying the offficers had a "well-founded suspicion" to stop the vehicle.<ref>"Judge rules King traffic stop, search legal." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 26, 2007.</ref>

He was expected to plead guilty and enter a pretrial intervention program,<ref>"Rev. King to avoid trial." ''Pensacola News Journal'', November 1, 2007.</ref> but later denied agreeing to the terms of the program. "We stood before this congregation and said we were not guilty, and we told the truth," King said. "We entered a formal plea of 'not guilty.' That has not changed, and it will not change."<ref>"King plans to fight cocaine charges." ''Pensacola News Journal'', November 9, 2007.</ref>

King later dismissed Baroset as his attorney and hired [[Ted Stokes]]. He announced his resignation as pastor of [[Greater Union Baptist Church|Greater Union]] on [[December 23]], [[2007]], and in early January [[2008]] stated that he would change his guilty plea to [[Wikipedia:Nolo contendere|no contest]]. As Stokes explained, "The pretrial intervention would have been fine, but the state wanted him to admit guilt. He has a big issue with acknowledging guilt. I don't think Mr. King has any regrets."<ref>"King expected to make plea." ''Pensacola News Journal'', January 3, 2008.</ref>

King entered the plea before Judge [[Joel Boles]] on [[January 14]] and was sentenced to two years' probation. Boles withheld [[Wikipedia:Adjudication|adjudication]], meaning King will not have a felony conviction appear on his record. King still intends to appeal the legality of the traffic stop and search that led to his arrest.<ref>"Hugh King gets probation." ''Pensacola News Journal'', January 14, 2007.</ref>

As a result of King's plea, [[Community Maritime Park Associates]] Chairman [[Lacey Collier]] asked Board members to consider removing him "for conduct detrimental to the interests of the corporation," as allowed by the organization's bylaws.<ref>"Park board could oust King." ''Pensacola News Journal'', January 12, 2008.</ref>  King was removed from the CMPA board in February 2008 by an 11-1 (with King dissenting).

==References==
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{{succession box | before = [[Sharon L. Wakeman]] | title = [[Pensacola City Council]]<br/>[[City of Pensacola District 6|District 6]] | years = [[1999]]-[[2004]] | after = [[Lester A. Smith]]}}
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[[Category:Community Maritime Park|King, Hugh]] [[Category:African-American politicians|King, Hugh]] [[Category:African-American religious leaders|King, Hugh]]