Pacman will face two felony charges
Titans CB in strip club melee that preceded shooting
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Suspended NFL player Adam "Pacman" Jones must surrender here to face two felony charges in a strip club melee that preceded a triple shooting in February, authorities said Wednesday.
Two other people police identified as part of the troubled Tennessee Titans cornerback's entourage also will face felony charges in the fracas inside the Minxx club, Las Vegas police said.
Clark County District Attorney David Roger said at a news conference that arrest warrants were being sought for Jones, Robert "Big Rob" Reid of Carson, Calif., and Sadia Morrison of New York.
"They'll be given a reasonable amount of time to turn themselves in, and if they don't, police will go looking for them," Roger said.
No one was named as the shooter in a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Las Vegas Justice Court. But police released an image of a person who Capt. James Dillon called a "person of interest related to the shooting." Dillon said investigators wanted to identify and talk with the man, who police said may live on the East Coast.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello did not say if the Las Vegas charges would affect Jones' suspension for the upcoming NFL season.
"As we have stated, his status will be reviewed after the Titans' 10th regular-season game," Aiello said.
Jones agreed this month not to appeal the suspension, and officials said Jones had a chance to be reinstated after 10 games if he adhered to team restrictions and had no further "adverse involvement with law enforcement." Missing the entire season would cost Jones his salary of nearly $1.3 million.
Tennessee Titans owner K.S. "Bud" Adams Jr. said the team was focused on the 2007 season and would have no comment about Jones' legal trouble.
"We are moving forward as a team and do not expect to comment on any future matters concerning him until his suspension is completed," Adams said.
Dillon said Las Vegas police had been in contact with Atlanta police, who said this week they wanted to question Jones about a shooting early Monday after a fight at an Atlanta strip club. The police captain said the two cases were not related.
The Las Vegas gunfire occurred Feb. 19 outside a club several blocks off the Strip near the end of NBA All-Star weekend. A bar employee was paralyzed and two others suffered less serious wounds.
Jones, 23, of Franklin, Tenn., faces two counts of felony coercion stemming from allegations he bit a bar bouncer on the ankle and threatened to kill club employees, according to the criminal complaint.
Reid, 37, who police identified as Jones' bodyguard, faces one felony coercion charge alleging he attacked a bouncer who tried to restrain Jones.
Morrison, 25, faces charges including coercion, felony assault with a deadly weapon and battery stemming from allegations that she hit a bouncer in the head with a champagne bottle and attacked several other club employees with a chair and a stanchion.
Coercion is the act of threatening or physically interfering with a person trying to do something that he or she has a right and responsibility to do.
If convicted, Jones faces a maximum of up to 12 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, authorities said.
The charges are slightly different from those police sought in March against Jones, Reid and Morrison. Roger declined to file those charges, asking police for more information and to identify a shooter.
"We wanted to make sure we had a lock-tight case before we started filing charges and releasing reports," Roger said.
Las Vegas lawyer Robert Langford, who has said he would represent Jones, Reid and Morrison if charges were filed, was expected to contact police to arrange their surrender. Langford did not respond to repeated messages Wednesday seeking comment.
Police earlier called Jones "an inciter" of a fracas that caused employees to usher people out of the club, several blocks off the Las Vegas Strip near the end of NBA All-Star weekend.
A police report says Jones showered dancers on stage with money from a black plastic trash bag -- an act of tipping known as "making it rain." When two dancers began fighting over the money, Jones allegedly grabbed one by the hair and punched her.
Jones is accused of swinging his fists and threatening the life of club employees who police said tried to intervene, and is seen on videotape punching a man who police identify as his own business manager.
A police report says Jones was seen walking away from the strip club with a man wearing a baggy black T-shirt and blue jeans. Minutes later, police say a similarly dressed man standing next to a palm tree fired five or six shots toward people at the front of the club.
A bouncer who Jones fought with was wounded in the chest and left forearm. Another bouncer, Thomas Urbanski, was shot in the left hand and the torso, and was left paralyzed from the waist down. A female club patron was wounded in the head, police said.
Langford has called the melee "a glorified bar fight," and said nothing linked Jones with the shooting outside. He said Jones cooperated with police on DNA comparisons that failed to show the NFL star was responsible for a bite injury reported by a bouncer.
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Sure, sometime this century. But not till William Clay Ford sells the team.
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