Associated Press
The NBA notebook …
TRENTON, N.J. ó A judge on Monday will consider whether former NBA star Jayson Williams should be sentenced for covering up a fatal shooting at his mansion in 2002, given Williams’ recent erratic behavior, including an assault arrest in North Carolina.
Williams, 41, was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in 2004 but convicted on four counts of trying to cover up the shooting of a hired driver at his Hunterdon County mansion. The jury couldn’t reach a verdict on a reckless manslaughter count, and State Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman has delayed sentencing pending Williams’ retrial on that charge.
Prosecutors are asking the judge to reconsider the sentencing delay due to Williams’ recent run-ins with the law.
In April, police used a stun gun on Williams during an altercation in a New York hotel room, and in May he was arrested in North Carolina and charged with assault for allegedly punching someone in a barroom dispute. Earlier this year, his wife filed divorce papers claiming he was abusive and had a drug problem.
The four cover-up counts on which Williams was convicted ó including witness and evidence tampering ó carry a combined maximum sentence of 13 years in prison. However, Williams was not expected to receive a term longer than five years, the maximum sentence for the most serious charge.
Williams’ retrial, scheduled for January, has been pushed back several times, notably after it was disclosed in 2007 that an investigator in the prosecutor’s office used a racial slur to describe Williams in 2002. Williams’ defense team is seeking to have the cover-up convictions reversed on grounds of racial bias.
THABEET HURT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó Hasheem Thabeet canceled a pre-draft workout with the Grizzlies on Sunday citing a shoulder injury, but he also had plans to talk to other teams.
Memphis officials have already met with Thabeet twice in preparation for Thursday’s NBA draft. The top-rated big man, Thabeet averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks (second in the nation) for the Huskies last season, when he was co-Big East player of the year.