D.A. Defers Decision on Charges Against Cowlings

A close friend of O.J. Simpson who was arrested last month on charges of harboring the famed athlete during his six-hour disappearance will not face criminal charges, at least for now, prosecutors announced Thursday.

“The district attorney’s office has determined that further investigation is required to make a decision on whether to file criminal charges against Allen Cowlings,” a statement released by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said. “Therefore, no criminal charges are being filed at this time.”

Cowlings’ attorney, Donald Re, welcomed the news that his client would not be charged, but also noted that prosecutors have not ruled out bringing charges in the future. That leaves Cowlings vulnerable to a future prosecution and could complicate matters for the Simpson defense team if it seeks to call him as a witness in their case.

“My concern at this point is that they may be trying to use him to gain some tactical advantage in the Simpson case,” Re said. “I’m concerned that that may be lingering in the background here.”

For the moment, the decision not to file charges against Cowlings means that his $250,000 bond will be returned to him at a court appearance today, Re said. The announcement came amid two other developments in the Simpson case: Closely watched DNA tests got under way outside Washington, and a lawyer representing the parents of Nicole Brown Simpson said he hoped O.J. Simpson would not contest their efforts to win legal guardianship of his two young children.

Nicole Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman were stabbed to death June 12. Last week, Simpson pleaded “absolutely, 100% not guilty” to the murders.

In the Cowlings case, Re emphasized that prosecutors had not shared any plans with him, but he added that their decision to leave his client “hanging” could make it harder for Cowlings to testify for Simpson if his former teammate wanted him to take the stand. With criminal charges still a possibility, Cowlings would almost certainly be advised not to testify and instead exercise his right against self-incrimination as guaranteed under the 5th Amendment, Re said.

“It’s a strategy move on their part,” Simpson lawyer Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. said of the decision not to drop charges against Cowlings. “Will he be prevented from testifying on our behalf because he has this thing hanging over him? That’s fundamentally unfair.”

Given the potential impact on the Simpson case, Cochran called on prosecutors to resolve the Cowlings matter before Simpson goes to trial--which could happen as early as September.

According to law enforcement sources, police recovered nearly $10,000 and Simpson’s passport from the car after he and Cowlings were arrested June 17. Partly in light of that evidence, investigators have said they believe Simpson was fleeing, not preparing to kill himself. Evidence of flight to avoid prosecution can be introduced to suggest that a criminal defendant had a “consciousness of guilt.”

Re has said that if money and the passport were indeed recovered from the car, Cowlings was not aware of them.

If he chose to testify in the Simpson case, Cowlings could bolster the contention of Simpson’s attorneys that he was not fleeing prosecution but rather was on the verge of killing himself, Re said. But the decision to leave the Cowlings investigation open makes it much more difficult for him to take the stand, legal experts agreed.

“This makes Cowlings unavailable for either side in the Simpson case,” said Peter Arenella, a UCLA law professor.

Harland W. Braun, a noted Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, agreed, saying that as long as Cowlings faces criminal charges, Simpson “effectively is deprived of a relevant witness.” Braun added, however, that Cowlings could elect to testify at his own risk, knowing that it could be used against him if charges are someday filed but electing to go forward out of loyalty to his lifelong friend.

Even as prosecutors were backing away from their pursuit of Cowlings, their experts joined with several from the defense to start a test that could influence the Simpson case profoundly.

At a Germantown, Md., private laboratory, experts for O.J. Simpson’s defense team were on hand when 10% was carved from blood samples discovered outside his ex-wife’s Brentwood home, at his nearby estate and on his Ford Bronco. The samples were split so experts can conduct future tests if necessary.

Conducting the actual tests at the Cellmark Diagnostics lab are analysts hired by Los Angeles prosecutors.

The arrival Thursday morning of defense experts Dr. Henry Lee and Dr. Edward Blake was a surprise, because Simpson’s attorneys had announced one day earlier that they would not participate in the DNA testing because the conditions being placed on them were too limiting.

Emerging from the brick and glass complex just before the firm closed for the day, Lee said the conditions for the testing set by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito are “unacceptable for both of us--Dr. Blake and myself. Therefore we are not participating in the observation.”

But the defense experts wanted to set aside a portion of the blood samples because “if we don’t preserve some sample for the future, we don’t have any chance to do any testing,” Lee said.

The scientists were accompanied by Peter Neufeld, a New York attorney experienced in DNA cases. Neufeld has criticized the Cellmark laboratory in the past for producing “false positives.” Simpson’s attorneys may question the credibility of the lab and the admissibility in court of its test results.

Neufeld has sought stringent regulations on DNA testing and has tried to exclude it as evidence in several court cases. DNA, which contains an individual’s genetic blueprint, can be tested using different methods.

The test that will be conducted in Maryland is called Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and is considered highly precise.

The defense team’s samples, which were mutually agreed to by the defense experts and Cellmark analysts, will be stored in Cellmark’s vault. Lee said analysts extracted six blood samples from the drops collected by police last month. But it “remains to be seen” whether the samples will be enough to get definitive results from the RFLP tests, Blake said.

Cellmark officials refused to comment on the case. Lee thanked the laboratory’s scientists for their courtesy and said they “worked with us closely” in selecting the samples.

Meanwhile, 3,000 miles away, a lawyer for the parents of Nicole Simpson said they have asked a court to formally nominate them as guardians for Simpson’s daughter Sydney, 8, and son Justin, 5.

“We’re trying to do what’s best for the children,” said William M. Walker, a Santa Ana attorney who filed the guardianship petition for Nicole Simpson’s father, Louis Brown. “They’ve been with their grandparents (since their mother’s murder), and they’re comfortable with their grandparents. I’ve been told that they are doing as best as can be expected under the circumstances.”

A temporary guardianship would allow the Browns, who live in coastal Orange County, to make decisions for the children, such as enrolling them in school and providing emergency health care, Walker said.

Walker said Louis and Juditha Brown are not trying to establish a permanent guardianship but one that is “reviewable whenever there is a change of circumstances.”

If Simpson gets out of jail, he can petition the court to regain custody of his children, the attorney said.

Newton reported from Los Angeles; Leeds from Germantown, Md. Times staff writer Davan Maharaj in Orange County also contributed to this report.