Judge dismisses most charges against NBA's Iverson

A Philadelphia judge on Monday threw out the most serious charges facing NBA star Allen Iverson after a prosecution witness said he lied to police when he claimed Iverson threatened him with a gun.

At the end of a grueling six-hour preliminary hearing, Municipal Judge James DeLeon dismissed 12 of 14 criminal charges, including four felonies, against Iverson, a Philadelphia 76ers' guard and former National Basketball Association most valuable player.

But DeLeon ruled that Iverson, 27, and his uncle Gregory Iverson, 39, would face trial on two counts each of making terroristic threats against Charles Jones, 21, and Hakim Carey, 18. The charge is a misdemeanor.

Prosecutors alleged Iverson and his uncle forced their way into the West Philadelphia apartment of Iverson's cousin Shaun Bowman at about 2:30 a.m. on July 3 while searching for Iverson's wife, Tawanna, and Bowman, who were hiding out at a local hotel after an apparent domestic dispute.

Jones, 21, and Carey, 18, who were inside the apartment at the time, told police Iverson displayed a handgun in his waistband and warned they would come to harm unless they told him where Bowman and his wife were. There was no actual violence.

Police charged Iverson with 14 criminal counts, including conspiracy, trespass, assault and weapons violations that carried a maximum combined penalty of up to 70 years behind bars.

But early in the preliminary hearing, Carey retracted his statement to police he had seen Iverson with a gun in Bowman's apartment. He said he made up the story to please Jones, suggesting at one point the older man had urged him to lie.

Carey also said he had misgivings about accusing a beloved sports hero in his home city. "People actually love Allen Iverson. Anybody could just come up and shoot me," Carey said. "I didn't want to be Philadelphia's 'most wanted.'"

Defense attorneys also got Jones to acknowledge he delayed phoning 911 about Iverson for 10-1/2 hours until he could speak to a personal injury lawyer.

Bowman also contradicted his own statement to police by testifying that Jones told him privately days after the incident that Iverson had no weapon with him. He said Jones offered to drop the case if Iverson would agree to pay him $100,000. Bowman added that Iverson paid the rent for the home and was allowed to visit any time.

'A RELATIVE LOOKING FOR A RELATIVE'

At the end of the hearing, DeLeon told a packed courtroom that prosecutors had presented only enough evidence to justify sending Iverson and his uncle to trial on two counts of making terroristic threats, a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years' imprisonment per count.

"It's the type of situation where you have a relative looking for a relative at the home of a relative, and the door was answered by the guest of a guest," said the judge, who was at times visibly irritated by the prosecution.

Assistant District Attorney Charles Ehrlich complained bitterly that DeLeon had allowed Iverson's defense attorneys unprecedented scope to grill prosecution witnesses, including a minute examination of Jones' cellular phone records.

"I know the rules don't apply today," Ehrlich told DeLeon while Jones was on the witness stand. "This witness is being subjected to cross-examination unlike any other witness in any other preliminary hearing."

For his part, DeLeon showed no shyness about being an Iverson fan. "Put it this way: Once I got on the case, I couldn't wear my Iverson jersey," he joked to reporters.

Iverson, who led the NBA in scoring last season and holds a lucrative product endorsement contract from Reebok International Ltd., showed no emotion as he left the courthouse in a van for his $2.4 million mansion. He is free on $10,000 bail.