Willie Aikens

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Willie Mays Aikens (born October 14, 1954 in Seneca, South Carolina) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the California Angels (1977, 1979), Kansas City Royals (1980-1983) and Toronto Blue Jays (1984-1985). He graduated from South Carolina State University, and was selected by the Angels with the second pick of the 1975 amateur draft. He also played with Mexican team "Yaquis".

In 1980, Aikens got the game-winning RBI in Game 3 of the 1980 World Series. It was the Royals' first-ever win in a World Series game. Aikens hit .400 for the series. He was (and still is) the only player in World Series history to hit two home runs in the same game twice during the same World Series.

Aikens' career rapidly declined after 1983. Following the 1983 season, Aikens and teammates Willie Wilson and Jerry Martin and former teammate Vida Blue pleaded guilty to attempting to purchase cocaine. Aikens was suspended and the Royals traded him to Toronto for designated hitter Jorge Orta. Aikens played parts of two seasons for Toronto, mostly as a DH, before winding up his career in the Mexican League. In 1985, Aikens testified in the scandalous Pittsburgh drug trials.

[edit] Further Legal Trouble

After his career, Aikens' legal problems continued, culminating when Aikens was found guilty of selling 63 grams of crack cocaine to an undercover police officer and sentenced to 20 years and 8 months in prison. Aikens is sometimes cited as an example of the results of mandatory minimum sentencing in drug-related crimes.

The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department received complaints that Willie Mays Aikens was selling narcotics at his home. Consequently, in December of 1993, the police put Mr. Aikens' condominium under surveillance. The police observed numerous individuals entering Mr. Aikens' home and then exiting after a brief stay. On December 8, 1993, a police officer named Ginger Locke saw Mr. Aikens standing in the garage of his condominium. She approached him and asked for directions. After Mr. Aikens gave Officer Locke directions, he told her that he was listed in the phone book and asked her to call him sometime.

In December and January of 1993, Officer Locke called Mr. Aikens numerous times in order to establish rapport with him. On January 18, 1994, Officer Locke called Mr. Aikens and told him that she had loaned her car to a friend, and that the friend had been caught with some "stuff," referring to crack cocaine, in the car. Officer Locke's story initiated a discussion about narcotics. Eventually, Mr. Aikens indicated that he could get Officer Locke "all" of the "stuff" that she wanted.

Later that day, Officer Locke drove to Mr. Aikens' home and asked him if she could buy an "eight ball," i.e. an eighth of an ounce of cocaine. Mr. Aikens asked Officer Locke if she wanted her cocaine "hard," i.e. in crack form, or "soft," i.e. in powder form. She replied that she wanted it "hard." Mr. Aikens pointed to some crack cocaine sitting on an ottoman in his den and indicated that he did not have a full "eight ball" of crack on hand. He told Officer Locke that he would have to make some more. Using equipment which he kept in his den, Mr. Aikens quickly proceeded to make crack by mixing powder cocaine with baking soda in a glass beaker, pouring water on it, heating it with a hand-held torch, baking it in a microwave, and then rinsing it with cold water. Mr. Aikens weighed some of the crack that he had made, along with some of the crack which he already possessed, on a dial-a-gram scale. He sold this crack to Officer Locke for $ 200.

On January 24, 1994, Officer Locke visited Mr. Aikens' home to buy more cocaine. Mr. Aikens called a supplier and arranged to get some "stuff." Mr. Aikens then had Officer Locke drive him to his supplier's Kansas City home, where he used Officer Locke's money to purchase powder cocaine. On the way back to Mr. Aikens' home, Mr. Aikens had Officer Locke stop at stores where he could buy beakers and baking powder. When Mr. Aikens and Officer Locke returned to Mr. Aikens' home, Mr. Aikens converted the powder cocaine into crack, and he sold the crack to Officer Locke.

On January 28 and February 23 of 1994, Officer Locke returned to Mr. Aikens' home and arranged to buy more crack. On each occasion, Mr. Aikens called a supplier and had Officer Locke accompany him while he obtained powder cocaine. On each occasion, Mr. Aikens converted the powder into crack upon returning to his home and sold the crack cocaine to Officer Locke.

On March 25, 1994, a grand jury indicted Mr. Aikens on four charges of crack cocaine distribution in violation of 21 U.S.C. United States v. Aikens, 64 F.3d 372, 373-374 (8th Cir. 1995)

Aikens presently serves his prison sentence in Atlanta, Georgia. He is scheduled for release in 2012.