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Jayson Williams indicted again in shooting death | TribLIVE.com
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Jayson Williams indicted again in shooting death

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. -- A new indictment against former NBA star Jayson Williams adds a weapons offense to the seven charges he already faces in the shooting death of a limousine driver.

The indictment handed up Wednesday increases Williams' possible prison sentence by 10 years. He could face nearly 55 years in prison if convicted on all charges, the most serious of which is aggravated manslaughter.

Williams' attorneys called the new indictment "an obvious attempt at damage control" intended to silence discussion on mistakes made by prosecutors the first time they went before a grand jury.

"We believe we are vindicated that the way this indictment was originally obtained was improper," defense attorney Billy Martin said.

The 35-year-old Williams is accused of recklessly handling the shotgun that killed Costas Christofi and then trying to make the shooting look self-inflicted.

The shooting occurred Feb. 14, 2002, inside Williams' 40-room mansion in rural Alexandria Township.

The Hunterdon County Prosecutor's and State Attorney General's offices hope a new indictment from a different grand jury will resolve a challenge to the original one handed up in May.

Williams' attorneys argued the first indictment was flawed due to mistakes in the grand jury presentation. They said prosecutors violated Williams' rights by telling grand jurors that he chose to remain silent and call a lawyer immediately after the shooting.

A trial judge upheld the original indictment late last year, and a hearing before an appeals court is scheduled for Wednesday.

PRO BASKETBALL

  • Baron Davis practiced with the New Orleans Hornets for the first time in six weeks and said he will make his return to the lineup Tuesday, when the Hornets face Indiana on the road.

  • Penny Hardaway, sidelined for 24 games while recovering from surgery on his right thumb, was activated by the Phoenix Suns.

  • The Cleveland Cavaliers hired Len Komoroski as team president.

    COLLEGE BASKETBALL

    Beth Friday, a 6-foot-1 senior forward/center for Duquesne University and a former star player at Upper St. Clair High School, was named to the all-Atlantic 10 Conference women's first team. Friday averaged 14.4 points and 10.6 rebounds this season for the Dukes, who will face Fordham today in the first of four first-round games in the A-10 tournament in Kingston, R.I. Friday, who carries a 3.70 grade-point average in accounting, also was named to the league's all-academic team. Junior guard Candace Futrell, who led the league in scoring with an average 19.5 points for the Dukes, was named to the third team. Cathy Joens, a 5-11 senior guard from George Washington, was named player of the year. Joens finished second in the league in scoring (17.9 ppg.) and ranked in the top 10 in 3-point field-goal shooting, steals and free-throw percentage. Xavier fresman Tara Boothe was named freshman of the year after averaging 16.0 points.

  • Calvin Warner, Jacksonville's leading scorer and rebounder, was suspended for the rest of the season for violating an unspecified team policy, coach Hugh Durham said.

  • Backup forward Eugene Land quit Cincinnati's basketball team and backup center Rod Flowers was suspended indefinitely before a game against Alabama-Birmingham. Coach Bob Huggins said Land quit for personal reasons. He is the third Cincinnati player to quit this season. Reserves Eric Hicks and Tony Bobbitt also left the team for a few days, but were reinstated.

  • If Clemson gets an invitation to the NIT, the Tigers won't be able to host a game at Littlejohn Coliseum because the building needs more renovations before graduation, the school said.

  • Wright State fired men's coach Ed Schilling, saying he didn't make enough progress with the program. Schilling was 75-93 in his six seasons as head coach.

  • Three coaches who turned the national spotlight on the women's game, Cathy Rush, Harley Redin and Leon Barmore, are finalists for election to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

    CYCLING

  • Lance Armstrong finished in the pack in 82nd place at the Tour of Murcia, opening his season in a bid for a fifth straight Tour de France title.

    IDITAROD

  • Norwegian Robert Sorlie held his lead, becoming the first musher to reach the Yukon River village of Ruby in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

    SOCCER

  • The draw for this year's Women's World Cup will be held May 24 in Wuhan, China. FIFA's committee for women's football decided that the draw will be preceded by an exhibition game between China and a world all-star team. The tournament will be played in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Wuhan from Sept. 23-Oct. 11.