PHILADELPHIA — Allen Iverson’s legal troubles eased significantly Monday when a judge tossed out all but one charge against the NBA All-Star, who was accused of storming into his cousin’s apartment with a gun and threatening two men while looking for his wife. Municipal Court Judge James DeLeon said that Iverson would stand trial on two misdemeanor counts of making terroristic threats against the men. The ruling came after one of the alleged victims recanted part of his story and the other’s credibility was called into question. “It sounds like you had a relative looking for a relative at the house of a relative,” DeLeon said. Iverson, 27, was accused of throwing his wife, Tawanna, out of their mansion, then storming into his cousin’s apartment the next night. He was arrested on 14 felony and misdemeanor charges, including assault, criminal trespass and weapons offenses. The chaotic six-hour hearing featured contradictory testimony from Iverson’s two accusers — Charles Jones, 21, and Jones’ friend, Hakim Carey, 18 — and Iverson’s cousin, Shaun Bowman. DeLeon also dismissed all charges against Iverson’s uncle, Gregory Iverson, 39, except for two counts of making terroristic threats. Gregory Iverson was accused of accompanying the Philadelphia 76ers’ guard to Bowman’s apartment. Iverson and his uncle each face five to 10 years in prison if convicted on both counts. The district attorney’s office said it would consider refiling the other charges against the men. Iverson, the city’s highest-profile sports celebrity, was the subject of intense local media scrutiny when the allegations first surfaced in early July. Hordes of reporters and photographers camped outside Iverson’s suburban mansion in the days before he turned himself in to face the charges July 16. Jones, Bowman’s roommate, told police he was fast asleep July 3 when he awoke to find Iverson standing over him, cursing and threatening him. He claimed Iverson then lifted his shirt to show him a black handgun tucked in his waistband and declared, “I’m about to do something.” Carey initially told police he also saw the gun. At yesterday’s hearing, however, Carey said that Jones pressured him to tell police that Iverson had a weapon. Carey said he merely saw a black object in Iverson’s waistband and did not want to jump to conclusions about what it was. Carey, 18, also said he didn’t want to go to police in the first place, but Jones had talked him into it. The teenager said he feared he’d be physically harmed — even shot — if he became known in Philadelphia as Iverson’s accuser. “I don’t want to be Philadelphia’s most wanted,” Carey said. After the hearing, Lt. Michael Chitwood, the lead police investigator in the case, said Carey lacked the courage to back up in court what he had repeatedly told police: that Iverson had a gun. “We’re disappointed by what Mr. Carey decided to do. It was easy to cave under the pressure, and that’s what he did,” Chitwood said. “He had a great concern that he was going to destroy Mr. Iverson’s career.” But Carey and Jones disagreed on many other key points, leading defense attorney Richard Sprague to tell the judge: “I call for the court to give a ringing dismissal of these charges.” Bowman, meanwhile, testified that Iverson paid the rent on the apartment and had Bowman’s permission to enter. Bowman also said that Jones offered to drop the allegations against Iverson if Iverson paid $100,000. Bowman said he then threw Jones out of the apartment. And Sprague repeatedly attacked Jones’ credibility. Under questioning, Jones admitted that he had used cocaine and marijuana. Jones also waited more than 10 hours after the alleged break-in before calling police. Yet, according to cellular phone records, Jones decided to call 911 only 18 seconds after speaking by phone with a personal-injury lawyer. Carey, meanwhile, said that when he first saw Iverson at the door of the apartment about 2:30 a.m., he retrieved pen and paper to get an autograph. He didn’t get it. Instead, Carey said Iverson pushed his way inside and demanded to know the whereabouts of Tawanna, threatening Carey and Jones. Defense attorneys lauded the judge’s decision. “People will say if Allen Inversion wins this case, he won it because of celebrity. And it’s the irony in this case that the only reason he got arrested was because of celebrity,” said Guy Sciolla, Gregory Iverson’s lawyer. Iverson arrived at the courthouse in a three-car convoy, led by an unmarked car with a siren. About 20 police officers kept photographers and reporters away from the celebrity defendant, including three Associated Press photographers who said they were shoved by the officers. More than 100 people packed the courtroom, including lawyers and court staff not connected to the case. One court officer was seen handing Iverson a slip of paper to sign, while another law enforcement official shook Iverson’s hand. At one point, Sprague tried to get an attorney from the DA’s office tossed from the courtroom “for making faces.” She was allowed to stay. But the judge threw out a spectator who stood up and started waving his hands at Carey. This is not Iverson’s first brush with the law. As a teenager, Iverson was arrested in Virginia in 1993 after a bowling-alley brawl and spent four months in jail before he was granted clemency by the governor. The conviction was later overturned. In 1997, Iverson pleaded no contest to gun possession. Iverson has squabbled several times with 76ers coach Larry Brown and made an unreleased rap CD in which he used derogatory terms for women and gays. Through it all, Iverson, who in led the 76ers to the NBA Finals and was named the league’s MVP in 2001, remains enormously popular. His 76ers jersey is among the league’s top sellers, and Reebok last year gave Iverson a lifetime extension of his 10-year, $50 million endorsement contract. In a statement, the Sixers said they would continue to support Iverson. “We look forward to the resolution of the remaining issue in this matter so that both Allen and the 76ers can return their full focus where it properly belongs: on the basketball court,” the statement said.

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