Alleged shooter in 'Pacman' case indicted in Vegas

[August 02, 2008]  LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A man identified by NFL player Adam "Pacman" Jones as the gunman in a strip club shooting that wounded three people in 2007 was indicted Friday on seven felony counts.

Arvin Kenti Edwards of Renton, Wash., was ordered by a Las Vegas judge to be held without bail pending arraignment Tuesday.

Lawyer Jeffrey Segal said outside court his client will plead not guilty to the charges: three counts of attempted murder, three counts of battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm, and one charge of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm. Combined, convictions could bring penalties of up to 186 years in prison.

Edwards is accused of wounding three people outside the Minxx strip club in February 2007 after police say Jones incited a brawl inside during NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. The most seriously wounded, former club employee Tommy Urbanski, 45, was paralyzed from the waist down.

Urbanski's lawyer, Matthew Dushoff, said Friday he welcomed Edwards' indictment and the possibility it could provide evidence for his client's lawsuit alleging Jones was responsible for the shooting.

"We have allegations in our complaint that Adam 'Pacman' Jones was involved in the shooting," Dushoff told The Associated Press. "We still believe that today."

Jones' Las Vegas lawyer, Robert Langford, declined comment Friday.

Jones has never acknowledged any role in the shooting. He has been cooperating with police in the investigation and picked Jones out of a police lineup in Seattle in April.

Jones was suspended all last season following repeated tangles with the law. The 24-year-old player was traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Dallas Cowboys this year and is seeking reinstatement this season.

Edwards has been in jail in Las Vegas since Wednesday, when he was returned to Nevada following his arrest in Washington state and a fight to avoid extradition. Edwards said in May in a jailhouse telephone interview with a Nashville television station that he was framed by Jones.

Police say Edwards opened fire outside the strip club and later demanded $15,000 from Jones for "services rendered." Police characterized the demand for money as extortion, but Edwards was not charged with that crime.

Jones told authorities he didn't order the shooting and declined to pay. But he said he reimbursed a friend after the friend paid the money for him.

Jones pleaded no contest Dec. 6 to conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct in a plea deal that reduced two felony charges of coercion, each carrying a possible sentence of one to six years in prison. In return, he agreed to tell police what he knew about the gunman.

[Associated Press; By KEN RITTER]

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