ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 29, 1996 TAG: 9607010044
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALLAS
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE DALLAS COWBOYS wide receiver now allegedly has been targeted in a murder-for-hire scheme involving a former Dallas police officer.
Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin always has lived large, pronouncing himself ``The Playmaker'' of America's Team and brazenly going before a grand jury in a mink coat and sunglasses.
That cocky image is undergoing a serious reality check this off-season.
Since Irvin's 30th birthday party at a motel with two topless dancers was broken up by police in March, he's been the focus of an extortion plot, begun a trial on drug possession charges and allegedly has been targeted in a murder-for-hire scheme set in motion by a Dallas police officer.
Johnnie Hernandez, who resigned from the force following his arrest, was in a private cell under suicide watch Friday in the Lew Sterrett Justice Center. Bail was set at $250,000 on a solicitation of capital murder charge and at $2,500 for a bribery charge.
Law enforcement officials, citing a gag order in Irvin's high-profile drug case, remain silent about what may have motivated Hernandez to want the football star killed. But Hernandez, who has been subpoenaed as a witness in the ongoing trial, has been portrayed in media reports as a disgruntled and protective boyfriend.
Sources say he may have been angered at the way Irvin treated his girlfriend, Rachelle Marie Smith, a 24-year-old topless dancer who was friends with the women caught at the motel with Irvin. Smith, a blue-eyed brunette with the stage name ``Lorrissa,'' had testified about Irvin before the grand jury that indicted him. She also is to testify at Irvin's trial.
Irvin reportedly told Smith not to testify about his lifestyle ``or you could be hurt,'' an unidentified law enforcement official told The Dallas Morning News.
Hernandez believed Irvin repeatedly had threatened Smith if she testified at his drug trial, and wanted to stop the threats.
His lawyer, Frank Perez, did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.
In a motion filed Friday to lift the gag order, Irvin's defense attorneys took aim at the allegations, saying the ``news media has continually reported half-truths and misinformation from secret sources who were privy to secret grand jury investigations.''
They also asked that a court of inquiry be convened ``to inquire into the gross violations of grand jury secrecy.''
Smith was called before the panel that indicted Irvin and two topless dancers because her name appeared on the registration records for the room police were called to March 4 - a day before Irvin's 30th birthday - in response to a loud party, a source close to the investigation said.
Irvin, whose legal woes began that night, reportedly was upset that Smith testified. When they met to discuss it April 18, Irvin had Smith strip-searched for a recording device, a source told The News.
State District Judge Manny Alvarez said Friday that Irvin's trial would continue, even though Hernandez had been arrested and charged. Alvarez previously had admonished potential jurors not to read or listen to reports about the case, and said he saw no reason to declare a mistrial.
Early this week, police were tipped to Hernandez's plan. On Wednesday, he offered ``several thousand dollars'' as a partial payment to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent posing as a hit man, police chief Ben Click said.
After five years on the force, 14 commendations and no disciplinary actions on his record, Hernandez now faces up to 99 years in prison if convicted.
The development is the latest bizarre twist in an incredible few months for Irvin, who seemed on top of the world in January when the Cowboys won their third Super Bowl in four years.
Irvin, who had one of his best seasons, always has been known as a loudmouth on and off the field, but his behavior usually was accepted as part of his personality.
He raised a ripple of criticism shortly before the Super Bowl when he uttered a profanity on national television following the NFC championship game.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Michael Irvin's drug trial, which continued Fridayby CNBin Dallas, may be the least of the Cowboys receiver's problems.
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