Feb 2, 2006 8:57 pm US/Central
Trial Dates Set In Vikings Party Scandal
Minneapolis (WCCO) ―
-
-
From top, L-R: Daunte Culpepper, Bryant McKinnie, Fred Smoot and Moe Williams
CBS
Attorneys, not athletes, were in court Thursday morning at a pretrial hearing for four Minnesota Vikings players accused of lewd behavior during a cruise on Lake Minnetonka.
Attorneys for Daunte Culpepper, Bryant McKinnie, Fred Smoot and Moe Williams were present for the hearing at the Ridgedale Traffic Courthouse in Minnetonka, Minn.
Each player faces three misdemeanor charges in connection with the October "sex boat" party incident.
Lawyers for Culpepper and Williams announced those two players will be tried together.
"If the first trial is an acquittal, then it, it will help the second defendant," said Joe Friedberg, Moe Williams' attorney. "If it is a conviction, then it will severely hurt the second defendant and we don't want to take that kind of chance."
That trial is scheduled for April 18. Lawyers are expected to ask a judge to throw the boat cruise case out of court.
"The conduct, were it true, I don't believe is a crime, but it's not true," Friedberg said.
Culpepper's attorney, Earl Gray, said his client was unfairly targeted.
"It stinks," Gray said. "It's unfair to charge him with a charge they can't prove just because he's a professional football player named Daunte Culpepper."
Prosecutor Steve Tallen said he has plenty of solid evidence on the accused players.
"Certainly some of the victims are fans and they know who these guys are whether they're naked on a boat or whether they're walking down the street," Tallen said.
Smoot will be tried on May 2, and McKinnie will be tried on May 22.
"We are still continuing to enter a 'not guilty' plea and disputing all the charges," said Joe Tamburino, McKinnie's attorney.
All of the players were ordered to be booked and fingerprinted five days before their trials are scheduled to start.
All four teammates were charged with indecent conduct, disorderly conduct and lewd or lascivious conduct, according to court papers.
Attorneys for all four players have previously entered innocent pleas on their clients' behalf.
According to court papers, Culpepper and Williams are accused of groping lap dancers on the cruise, while McKinnie and Smoot are accused of engaging in explicit sex acts with women during the party. (Read the story "
Four Vikings Charged In Sex Party Scandal" for more information.)
If convicted, each player faces a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine on each count. The Vikings' attorneys said they will not make plea agreements and one said, "every issue in this case will be contested."
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
