Pacers irritated by latest off-court troubles

Friday, February 29, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Indiana Pacers face a fresh wave of unwanted attention with the arrest of a murder suspect after he had been at the home of one player and a reported rape at the home of another.

While police say the players were not involved in either case, both have been in recent legal troubles and the incidents frustrate a team trying to improve its tarnished image.

Pacers forward Shawne Williams left the team's game Wednesday night after learning a man had been arrested on a Tennessee murder warrant soon after leaving his home. Williams did not practice with the team on Thursday and will not travel with the Pacers to their game at Toronto on Friday.

Team officials said Williams, who has averaged 7.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 51 games this season, was not suspended, but they were blunt in their dissatisfaction.

"We've got to be very clear about this -- we don't want our players hanging around murderers," team president Larry Bird said. "That's not a good sign for our young fans. It's not a good sign for management."

Officers arrested Gary Bohanon, 20, of Memphis, Tenn., on a warrant for an Oct. 17 fatal shooting at a Memphis auto repair shop. Bohanon was spotted at Williams' Indianapolis home Wednesday evening and arrested after he left the home as a passenger in a truck registered to Williams, federal marshals said.

Williams was arrested with Bohanon, who was using the alias of Roosevelt Rollins, in September after a traffic stop when an officer found marijuana in the SUV Williams was driving. Williams, a 22-year-old who was the Pacers' 2006 first-round draft pick from Memphis, pleaded guilty to driving without ever having received a license, while a drug charge was filed against his passenger.

Williams, whom the Pacers suspended for three games, apologized to the team and its fans after that arrest and said he would be more careful about who he was with.

His agent, Happy Walters, said Thursday that Williams did not know Bohanon had been using an alias or that he was back at his home this week.

"He's done everything he said he was going to do," Walters said of Williams. "He's going to take the next day or two and get it all straightened out and get back with the team when they get back from Toronto."

The arrest of Bohanon came just days after a woman told police that she had been raped early Sunday during a small gathering at the suburban Carmel home of Pacers guard Marquis Daniels.

Daniels is not a suspect in the rape, but a man who was there could face charges pending the results of evidence tests in the coming weeks, said Vicky Dunbar, a spokeswoman for the Hamilton County sheriff's department.

Bohanon was being held without bond in Indianapolis pending extradition to Memphis. Authorities did not know whether he had an attorney.

He faces a murder charge for the shooting death of 22-year-old Ronald Moore. Memphis police spokeswoman Monique Martin said Bohanon was the only person so far linked to the killing.

Bird said that even though Williams and Daniels were apparently not involved in criminal acts, the team was still taking unnecessary heat for the actions of people they were associating with.

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