Hottest Ticket in Indianapolis? It’s the Tyson 17, Not Indy 500

It’s the hottest ticket in town--yellow scraps of paper that read: “COURTROOM PASS--Public Seating.”

“You got one of these, you got something that’s really hard to get,” said Lorne Hill of Indianapolis, who works nights at a bank, processing checks. His pass was one of 17 issued to spectators for Wednesday’s session of the Mike Tyson rape trial.

“I stood in line here for four hours here yesterday starting at 6:30 a.m., then the security people told us no tickets would be issued until the jury was selected.”

The second-floor courtroom at the Marion County Courthouse has 51 viewing seats, 17 of which are available for spectators.

“If you don’t have a ticket to get in the Indy 500, you can get one. That’s not a tough ticket,” Hill said. “And no one in Indianapolis has ever had to buy from a scalper to get into a Pacers or a Colts game here.

“I could have sold this for $100, but it’s not for sale. This is something I’ll remember for a long time.”

A brisk scalping business seemed to be under way. At one point early Wednesday morning, a man was openly showing a $100 bill to pass-holders. Finally, he made a deal.

“From now on, when we pass out the passes, we’ll tell them if they want to sell them, they must go across the street to do it (legally),” courthouse security chief Maurita J. Ansted-Swails said.

Before that happened, V. John Toms, an Indianapolis bail bondsman, paid someone $100 for his pass. “I just want to be inside,” was all he said.

Three Eastern Kentucky University students drove 3 1/2 hours Tuesday, arrived in Indianapolis at 1 a.m. Wednesday and were the first to stand outside the courthouse.

Rodney Baker, John Grant and Jamie Hale said a security man informed them it wasn’t necessary to line up until 6:30 a.m., so they slept a few hours in their car, then returned and were first in line at 6:30.