Pacman Jones Expected to Take Plea Deal

[clevfan]

Pacman Jones Expected to Take Plea Deal
By KEN RITTER
Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS — Suspended NFL player Adam "Pacman" Jones is expected to take a plea deal Tuesday that will get him probation in return for testimony about a Las Vegas strip club triple shooting, his lawyer said.

The Tennessee Titans cornerback intends to plead no contest to one charge of conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct, a gross misdemeanor, in return for a promise to suspend a sentence of one year in county jail, according to a written plea agreement obtained by The Associated Press.


"He has agreed to testify in whatever hearings come up regarding the shooter," said his attorney, Robert Langford. Jones, who is not expected to appear at Tuesday's hearing, would not be sentenced until after testifying, he said.

Langford would not say if Jones knew the identity of a gunman who authorities say opened fire and wounded three people Feb. 19 outside the Minxx Gentlemen's Club minutes after Jones and members of his entourage were involved in a melee inside.

"I can't comment because that's an ongoing police investigation," Langford told the AP.

Langford said, however, that Jones did not know the identity of a man whose photo was released in June by police. Investigators said they wanted to question that man in the shooting. The photo was obtained from surveillance cameras, and police said they thought the man lived on the East Coast.

Langford said he would appear on Jones' behalf Tuesday before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo to waive Jones' preliminary hearing on two felony coercion charges stemming from allegations he incited the melee inside the club. The evidentiary hearing was postponed Oct. 29 while plea negotiations continued.

In addition to one year of probation, Jones must attend an anger management program, complete 200 hours of community service within a year and submit to random drug testing, according to the plea deal. Langford said Jones already is subject to drug testing under NFL rules.

Police have not charged anyone with the shooting, which left three people wounded, including a bar employee, Tommy Urbanski, who was paralyzed from the waist down.

Urbanski, co-worker Aaron Cudworth and club patron Natalie Jones have each filed civil lawsuits seeking damages from Jones.

Urbanski's lawsuit also seeks damages from the NFL, the Titans and the owners of Harlem Knights, a Houston strip club that hosted events at the Minxx club during the NBA's All-Star weekend, Feb. 17-19.

The 24-year-old Jones has not played this NFL season, after being suspended for violating league personal conduct rules. The NFL Players Association is appealing commissioner Roger Goodell's decision not to reduce Jones' seasonlong suspension.

Arrested six times since the Titans drafted him in April 2005 from West Virginia, Jones also has another criminal case pending, a felony count of obstruction in Georgia from a February 2006 arrest.

In the Vegas shooting case, two co-defendants, including Jones' bodyguard and a woman who police say hit a bouncer in the head with a bottle and attacked other club employees with a chair and a stanchion, also will plead no contest to reduced charges Tuesday, said Langford, who also represents them. Both will testify if called, he said.

Neither Robert "Big Rob" Reid nor Sadia Morrison will attend Tuesday's court hearing, during which Langford said Abbatangelo was expected to bind the case over to state court for their pleas to be entered.

The 37-year-old Reid of Carson, Calif., will plead no contest to a gross misdemeanor, conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct, in return for a similar promise of a suspended sentence of one year in county jail and one year of probation.

Reid had faced one felony coercion charge alleging that he attacked a club bouncer who tried to restrain Jones. Coercion carries a possible sentence of one to six years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Morrison, 25, of New York, will plead no contest to battery with substantial bodily harm, a felony carrying a possible sentence of one to six years in prison, Langford said. Morrison had faced five charges, including coercion, felony assault with a deadly weapon and battery.

She is expected to receive up to three years' probation, and her conviction would be reduced to a gross misdemeanor if she stays out of trouble, Langford said.

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Ratman jones

[Pancho Sanza]

Everyone's a stand up guy who wont give up his boys, until they are faced with the prospect of jail time.

[littleogre]

Originally Posted by Pancho Sanza

Everyone's a stand up guy who wont give up his boys, until they are faced with the prospect of jail time.

If one of his buddies shot someone in cold blood they deserve to go to jail. If someone you knew beat someone to death and the police asked did it happen and you lied and said no then that means you condone beating people to death. I say to hell with these people that protect criminals. I rember a case in fla a while back. For whatever reason police expected a registered child molester to be hiding out at his friends house. They go to the house and ask if he is there. The people lie and say no. Well he was in the back raping and killing a young underage girl. Hey atleast they aren't rats.

[Pancho Sanza]

I agree they shouldn't protect criminals, was just pointing out the hypocrisy.

[littleogre]

Originally Posted by Pancho Sanza

I agree they shouldn't protect criminals, was just pointing out the hypocrisy.

Oh ok well i get that point.