Key Witness Not on List for King Case : Court: A nurse is accused of fabricating his testimony in first trial that officers taunted King at hospital with talk of playing a ‘hardball game.’ The man’s former girlfriend says he made up the story to make money, possibly from a film deal.

Crucial testimony from a hospital nurse used against one of four officers accused in the Rodney G. King beating will not be used in the second trial because of allegations that the nurse may have fabricated his story.

The nurse, Lawrence E. Davis, gave riveting testimony both before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury and in the King beating trial when he described how Officer Lawrence M. Powell taunted King at the hospital by saying the officers had played “a pretty good hardball game” of baseball on him that night.

But with a jury selected in the federal civil rights trial against Powell and three other officers, it was learned Monday that federal authorities last summer began to find “discrepancies” in Davis’ statements. Those questions convinced them not to call Davis, 40, as a witness this time, sources said, despite the fact that his earlier testimony could have been used to show that the officers callously beat King and then showed no remorse for their actions.

According to police reports obtained by The Times, Davis’ credibility was further called into question after authorities last week interviewed his ex-girlfriend and were told that “everything he testified to was false” in the King case. The girlfriend, 43-year-old Joan Deneve, also told police that Davis had “made up the story in an attempt to make some money,” possibly from a movie about the King incident.

Deneve talked to police after Davis was arrested and charged with threatening to kill her. She said they had broken off their relationship, but that he returned to her Woodland Hills home, placed a gun in her mouth and warned: “I’m going to kill you.”

In an interview Monday, Deneve said she was the nursing supervisor in charge of the Pacifica hospital on the night that King was stopped by police. She said that while she spoke with King in the emergency room, she never heard any comments from any officers that they used their batons to “hit quite a few home runs” on King, as Davis had testified.

“Larry is a pathological liar,” she said. “If he’s moving his lips, he’s lying. He’s always lying. He can lie about the time of day. He can lie better than most people can tell the truth.”

She said that Davis was told by the FBI agents, after the first trial ended in acquittals and the federal government began pursuing evidence for the second trial, that there were discrepancies in his earlier testimony. In addition, she said he was advised by the agents that he might face perjury charges.

Federal prosecutors in the new trial have not included Davis on a list of their upcoming trial witnesses. Nevertheless, King--who is expected to be the trial’s most important witness--earlier this year told the federal grand jury that he remembers the police officers’ comments.

Attempts to reach Davis on Monday were unsuccessful.

But a man who identified himself as the owner of the Canoga Park house where Davis lives suggested that Deneve’s allegations should not be believed.

“Have you ever heard of fatal attraction?” he asked. “This is it. She would do anything.”

Defense attorneys for the accused officers in the King beating said that if no testimony about the alleged baseball banter is allowed in the second trial, it might make it more difficult for prosecutors to show that the officers recklessly violated King’s civil rights during the beating.

According to the police reports, Deneve told police that “shortly after (Davis) testified at the King trial, he became remorseful.” She said that he began threatening her and her friends, and that she asked him to move out of her home in December.

She said he returned to her home Friday, placed a gun at her head, knocked her down and then placed the gun in her mouth. She said that he also struck her numerous times, and that she suffered bruises on her upper thigh and upper arms. After he left, she called police and he was arrested.

According to a daily log filed by Sgt. Craig Crosby based on Deneve’s interview with police, “Davis lied during his testimony at the King trial.”

“Davis told Deneve that everything he testified to was false,” the sergeant’s log said. “There were no statements of ‘playing hardball’ or striking batons in the officers’ palms. It was all false. The only thing the officers said was that King had gotten beaten.

“Davis stated he made up the story in an attempt to make some money. He felt that if a movie was made, he could be cast to play his part. Additionally, he felt he could sue the hospital for stress over the incident. He hoped to get paid for his story.”

Davis was interviewed by police but would not discuss allegations that he fabricated his testimony, police said.

Crosby, in an interview with The Times, said the information from Deneve was being forwarded to the FBI and the state attorney general’s office for their review and possible filing of perjury charges against Davis.

“This information could have substantial bearing on the trial,” he said. “It would certainly enhance the credibility of the officers.”

In her interview, Deneve said Davis’ behavior changed markedly after he testified in the first trial and the FBI began to have questions about his testimony. She said he lost his job at Pacifica, worked briefly at a medical center in Tarzana and now works part time at two other hospitals in the area.

She said the FBI also interviewed her, and it was during that interview that she learned of their doubts about his testimony.

Although Powell steadfastly denied from the witness stand in the first trial that he made the hospital room comments, others besides Davis have recalled the banter.

A second nurse, Carol Denise Edwards, testified in the first trial that she remembered the conversation about baseball. She said Powell told King: “We won and you lost.”

King himself, in testifying before the federal grand jury after the state trial ended in acquittals, also recalled the comments. But he said he did not know which officer made the remarks.

He told the grand jury that he only remembered the officer’s comment: “Well, we played a little ball tonight, and guess who won? We did.”

Times staff writers Edward J. Boyer and Jim Newton contributed to this story.