The prosecutor in the Phoenix Suns drug...
The prosecutor in the Phoenix Suns drug case misled a witness during a March 30 interrogation in an attempt to get him to testify, according to the Mesa (Ariz.) Tribune.
The newspaper reported that a transcript of an interview of Suns ticket coordinator Alvin Scott conducted by James Keppel, Maricopa County prosecutor, shows that Keppel suggested that several players had accused Scott of being a cocaine user, although only one--Walter Davis--actually did.
“Can you tell me why any of these people--Garfield Heard, Mike Bratz, Don Buse, Curtis Perry or Walter Davis--would have any reason to say that you did cocaine with them. . . . Why would anybody say that about you?” the newspaper said Keppel asked Scott.
The transcript shows there was a break later, after which Scott acknowledged that he and others on the team had used cocaine.
Prosecutors later used that information to bolster indictments against six men.
Observers saw nothing illegal about the way Scott was persuaded to testify. They added it probably would have no effect on the case, the newspaper said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
