Moses Found Not Guilty of Soliciting : Jury, in Exonerating Hurdler, Cites Carelessness by Police

Citing careless handling of the case by police, a jury of six women and six men Friday found Olympic gold medalist Edwin Moses not guilty of charges of soliciting a prostitute.

The Los Angeles Municipal Court jury came to its conclusion on a second ballot after having deliberated for 2 hours 40 minutes. The first ballot showed 10 votes for not guilty, one for guilty and one abstention. A unanimous verdict was necessary for a decision.

When the favorable verdict was returned, Moses smiled, stood up and hugged defense attorney Edward Medvene as the courtroom broke into applause.

“We couldn’t be happier,” said attorney Harold Lipton, a member of the defense team.

Moses, his wife, Myrella, his mother, Gladys, and friends left the courtroom through a rear exit without commenting on the case.

“We didn’t feel the evidence was strong enough,” said jury foreman Harvey Adelman, 58, a professor of research and statistics at Pepperdine University in Malibu. “There were lot of inconsistencies in the report that left reasonable doubt.

“There were doubts about the solicitation and doubts about the intent.”

Said juror Albert Moreau of El Segundo: “Mr. Moses’ veracity, I think we believed in. We believe that Mr. Moses said where he went that night . . . to the discotheque and to the newsstand. And in fact he was looking for a place to have a snack. I believe he did not go there with the intent to solicit.

“We did not go so far as to say he was entrapped. Certainly the policewoman wasn’t dressed provocatively.

“I know Edwin Moses from a casual glance at the newspaper. To this day I don’t know what he won gold medals in. Was the verdict in any way based on sympathy for Mr. Moses? I don’t believe it was at all. We all go out of here feeling what we did was right.”

Said juror Craig Weller of West Los Angeles: “It seems to be the key for the police, to do their job properly, would be to wait and see if Mr. Moses was going to stop and then arrest and apparently that never occurred. It was a weakness in their case.”

Moses’ contract negotiator, Malibu businessman Gordon Baskin, said the two-time Olympic hurdles champion had planned to spend Friday evening with his family and friends.

“We feel very, very grateful about the fairness of the decision,” Baskin said.

Defense attorney Richard Mosk said: “I think Moses was believable in his testimony.

“I didn’t realize how popular Moses was until I walked with him through the courtroom and people would cheer us on.

“We tried like hell not to have them file this case. We talked to (City Atty.) Gary Netzer and the police. We don’t think it should have ever gone to trial.”

Moses, 29, of Laguna Hills, was arrested Jan. 13 for soliciting a plainclothes policewoman during a police action against prostitution in the Hollywood area.

Michael Wilkinson, a spokesman for Netzer, said that 35 solicitation arrests were made by the Hollywood task force that arrested Moses. Wilkinson said 30 of those cases were filed the same day as Moses’. He said 19 pleaded guilty or no contest and that four went to trial. He said he was unable to track down the disposition of seven others. He said that he did not know if verdicts had been reached in any of the four other cases that went to trial.

“We can’t deny in this case the tremendous amount of sympathy for Edwin Moses,” Dep. City Atty. Michael J. Guarino said. “I’m proud of the effort we put in. I wasn’t surprised by the verdict.

“When I was talking to him after the closing arguments, it was hitting me how difficult this was for him. Believe me, I haven’t basked in this at all. It has been really very difficult, but really, that’s what it’s all about . . . having to face difficult decisions. I think we did the right thing proceeding forward.

“Talking about the sloppiness of the police is a classic way of getting a defendant off the hook and it’s an extremely clever defense. It’s what I’d do if I were a defense attorney because you get the jurors to focus on the mistakes of the police instead of on the guilt or innocence of the defendant and you totally erase the possibility of dealing with the issues in the case.”

Christopher Crawford, Dep. Chief of Court Services Division, said a case such as Moses’ costs the city about $1,500 a day. “It would run a little on the high side on this particular case,” he said.

The defense lawyers said they had not totaled the costs, but that they had paid some witnesses’ expenses and had spent hundreds of hours in research.

Crawford also said an average solicitation trial takes four or five days. Moses’ trial ended on the sixth day.

Spokesmen for the U.S. Olympic Committee and Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee also expressed joy over the verdict.

Dave Fogelson, a representative of adidas, which sponsors Moses, told the Associated Press the company supported the athlete.

“Obviously, we believed in Edwin’s integrity all along and therefore feel it was a correct verdict,” he said. “There would have been no change in our contract or relationship with Edwin, regardless of verdict.”