Iverson

[Steeltrap]

Here's what the Philadelphia justice system decided to do w/little A.I.

Judge dismisses all but one charge against Iverson

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press Writer
July 29, 2002


PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- NBA All-Star Allen Iverson was cleared of all but a misdemeanor Monday at a hearing into charges he stormed into his cousin's apartment with a gun and threatened two men while looking for his wife.

Two counts of making terroristic threats were left standing after the six-hour preliminary hearing to determine whether prosecutors had enough evidence to try Iverson.

``It sounds like you had a relative looking for a relative at the house of a relative,'' Municipal Court Judge James DeLeon said.

The ruling followed testimony from Iverson's two accusers and his cousin Shaun Bowman.

Iverson, the NBA MVP in the 2000-01 season and a three-time league scoring champion, was accused of throwing his wife, Tawanna, out of their home, then barging into Bowman's apartment July 3.

The Philadelphia 76ers guard was arrested on 14 felony and misdemeanor charges, including assault, terroristic threats and weapons offenses. Iverson's uncle also was charged and he, too, now faces only the misdemeanor.

The original charges against Iverson carried a maximum sentence of more than 50 years.

He was the subject of intense local media scrutiny after the allegations surfaced. Hordes of reporters and photographers camped outside Iverson's suburbanrges.

It's not Iverson's first brush with the law.

As a teenager in 1993, he was arrested after a bowling-alley brawl and spent four months in jail in Virginia before he was granted clemency by the governor. The conviction was later overturned.

In 1997, Iverson pleaded no contest to gun possession.

He also made an unreleased rap CD in which he used derogatory terms for women and gays, and he's fought several times with 76ers coach Larry Brown.

Through it all, Iverson remains enormously popular.

His 76ers jersey is the among the league's top sellers, and Reebok last year gave Iverson a lifetime extension of his 10-year, $50 million endorsement contract.

updated at Mon Jul 29 13:54:11 2002 PT