NFL Wire Notes | Jones to take a plea deal in shooting case
LAS VEGAS - Suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones is prepared to take a plea deal that will get him probation in a Las Vegas strip club triple shooting in an attempt to salvage his career.
Under the written plea agreement obtained by The Associated Press, Jones 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.
Las Vegas police identified Jones as the person who incited a Feb. 19 fight inside the Minxx Gentlemen’s Club minutes before three people were shot outside.
Jones’ Atlanta-based attorney Manny Arora said Tuesday the defense team believes Jones would have won a trial on two felony counts of coercion for inciting a fight inside the club. But a trial wouldn’t have happened for six months or even a year.
“And he may have lost another year of eligibility by going forward. In the real world, sometimes you have to make these difficult decisions for what’s best for your career, and we didn’t want this dragging on any further,” Arora said.
Even so, the deal won’t help 24-year-old Jones get back into the NFL this season.
Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Jones for the season in April for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Goodell and Jones met Nov. 2 to discuss the suspension, but Goodell chose not to shorten Jones’ punishment.
Jones’ attorney, Robert Langford, was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday to inform Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo of the plea, but the hearing was rescheduled for Thursday.
Notes
• Texans offensive lineman Fred Weary sued the city of Houston and two police officers for an arrest in which he was shot with a Taser gun during a November 2006 traffic stop.
Weary is accusing the city and officers Margaret McGivern and Joe Vasquez of violating his civil rights through excessive force, assault, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
• Kansas City ruled out running back Larry Johnson (injured foot) for Sunday’s game at Indianapolis.
• Quarterback J.P. Losman was selected as the starter for Buffalo against New England on Sunday.
• A personal trainer who claims ties to professional football players in Dallas and Atlanta pleaded guilty in Texas to conspiring to distribute thousands of units of anabolic steroids.
David Jacobs told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT on Monday that as part of a plea deal he would tell federal investigators about pro athletes who use steroids.
• Indianapolis claimed defensive end Simeon Rice off waivers, expecting him to fill in for injured Pro Bowl player Dwight Freeney.
• Arizona defensive end Bertrand Berry will miss the rest of the season because of a torn left triceps.