THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010439
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY AND STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 57 lines
As pro basketball star Joe Smith stood in court surrounded by family members, a judge on Wednesday set a date for a preliminary hearing for Smith, charged with malicious wounding in a brawl last week at a local night spot.
General District Court Judge Robert R. Carter set the hearing for Sept. 16. The judge also agreed to amend Smith's bond agreement to enable him to travel to the West Coast, where he plays for the Golden State Warriors. Smith is free on personal recognizance bond.
Golden State general manager Dave Twardzik said Wednesday the date will not interfere with the team's training camp, which begins in October.
Smith is accused of cutting male dancer Carlton Coney with a broken bottle, causing a gash in his back that required 22 stitches. The incident occurred about 1 a.m. on July 26 at Ridley's Restaurant and Lounge in South Norfolk.
On Wednesday, Smith appeared in court accompanied by his mother, Letha; his sisters, Sharon Smith and Celeste McFarland; his uncle Willie Brown; his godmother, Helen Sellers; and his two lawyers.
He did not enter a plea and did not comment.
Outside, after the hearing, Smith walked somberly, surrounded by his family, as a television crew and reporters followed. As he sat in a vehicle waiting for his family, Smith signed an autograph for a man who had followed him through the parking lot.
Through his lawyer, David Delpierre, Smith has denied the charge. He could face five to 20 years in prison if convicted.
``We're going to wait for the facts to come out,'' Delpierre said. ``I'm personally confident the system will work and things will come out well.''
The arrest has taken its toll on her son, Letha Smith said in an interview later.
``He's never had anything at all happen to him,'' she said. ``He's never been into nothing, and now he's flashed all over the papers for things he didn't do. It's hard on the whole family. . . . He's holding his head up and trusting in the Lord, that's all.''
But she is confident of the outcome: ``I just know I believe my son.''
Authorities say the dancer was injured after Smith and a group of his friends went to the bar to celebrate Smith's 21st birthday. Members of the group allegedly threw a plastic ashtray, a plastic ketchup bottle, and a bottle at least partially full of beer at the stage, according to bar patrons. Later, dancers confronted the group and the fight ensued, witnesses have said.
Smith, a Maury High School graduate and former national college player of the year at the University of Maryland, has a three-year, $8.53 million contract with the Warriors, who play their home games in Oakland, Calif. He was the No. 1 pick in the 1995 draft. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Basketball star Joe Smith gets a hug from his sister Celeste
McFarland after appearing in court Wednesday. Smith, a graduate of
Maury High School in Norfolk, got permission from the judge to
travel to the West Coast to practice with his team, the Golden State
Warriors.
KEYWORDS: ASSAULT MALICIOUS WOUNDING by CNB