Maybe John Hammond simply had the Christmas spirit and could not get the word "candy" out of his head.

Maybe it was all part of an unforeseen legal strategy.

Regardless, it is safe to say that Hammond's performance defending himself against felony sex-trafficking charges will not be forgotten anytime soon in Albany County Court.

On Dec. 10, the reputed pimp from Providence known as "Pupi" volunteered to the jury that he shared "nose candy" with alleged prostitutes. Just in case you were wondering, "nose candy" is a street term for cocaine (although Hammond expressed a fondness for heroin — more on that in a bit).

Hammond's opening statements apparently even surprised the court reporter, who asked him to clarify what he meant. Rather than back away from the whole "I do drugs" route, Hammond quickly stated: "Yes — I do share nose candy with these girls. For free. For my personal use, OK?"

It's important to note that one of the elements of the sex-trafficking charge Hammond faces is the allegation that he provided drugs to a prostitute.

Hammond, 38, also said he provided the women with rides, a place to stay and "protection that's needed" when they go out on various calls. He stressed that "not one time" did he ever ask the women to engage in prostitution, but soon volunteered more potentially damning information.

"I was supposed to have gotten indicted in Connecticut for making these girls prostitutes," Hammond declared.

Investigators in Connecticut dropped their case, Hammond said, then added: "New Hampshire police and detectives also did an investigation. They dropped their investigation."

Judge Stephen Herrick told Hammond his remarks were irrelevant, but Hammond apparently did not get the hint. He told the jury: "The evidence will show that these charges I'm being charged with are federal charges, me crossing state lines committing an act of a crime ... the evidence will prove to you that the federal agents investigated this same case."

So if you are keeping score, before Albany County prosecutors had called one witness, Hammond let jurors know he was under investigation by federal agents and police two other states. That's in addition to his alleged pimping in New York.

Hammond ended his opening statement saying: "Thank you for your time. I apologize. My first time. I apologize."

By midtrial, an irked Hammond claimed he had not received a fair trial. Herrick told Hammond, outside the presence of the jury, he had given him wide leeway in terms of Hammond's "failure to or inability to act as an attorney would act."

On Friday, Hammond's career as a pro se attorney reached its end. Believing he was being railroaded, he stopped defending himself. It was unclear if he would even return to court.

Hammond stayed for trial — as a defendant only. Trevor Hannigan, an attorney who was beside Hammond for the trial, took over as defense attorney.

But Hammond was not done speaking.

"I'm a heroin addict," he told the jury while testifying in his own defense. "I an addict myself, OK? I've got proof of that."

Hammond explained standards when it comes to using drugs. For instance, Hammond said of himself and a girlfriend that they "don't do crack cocaine. We only snort heroin."

If convicted, Hammond is "only" facing up to 25 years in prison.

rgavin@timesunion.com • 518-434-2403 • @RobertGavinTU