Killer of Jordan’s Father Sentenced to Life

A jury in Lumberton, N.C., chose life in prison instead of the death penalty Tuesday for Daniel Green, 21, the man who killed James Jordan and then paraded around town in the dead man’s car.

Following the jury’s recommendation, Judge Gregory Weeks sentenced Green to life in prison for murder during the commission of a robbery and 10 years for conspiracy to commit robbery of Jordan, the father of basketball player Michael Jordan.

Green was convicted Feb. 29 in the slaying of Jordan, who was shot as he napped in his car along a highway on July 23, 1993.

The panel decided to spare Green the death penalty because some jurors believed Larry Demery, who pleaded guilty and testified for the government, might have been the triggerman, not Green, juror Angela Coverdale said.

*

Former Minnesota Viking defensive end James Harris was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine for breaking his wife’s nose and collarbone during an argument. Hennepin County (Minn.) District Judge Herbert Lefler also ordered Harris, 27, who now lives in East St. Louis, Ill., to stay out of trouble, finish domestic abuse counseling and perform 100 hours of community service in six months.

Football

Defensive back Ronnie Lott, who played with four Super Bowl teams while with the San Francisco 49ers, announced his retirement.

Lott, 36, was voted to the NFL Pro Bowl a record-tying 10 times during a 15-year career in which he also played with the Los Angeles Raiders, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs after a being a two-time All-American at USC.

Wide receiver Shawn Jefferson, released last month by the San Diego Chargers, has agreed to a four-year, $6-million contract with the New England Patriots, according to a Boston radio station. . . . The New Orleans Saints signed free-agent defensive end Darren Mickell, who spent four seasons with the Chiefs, to a three-year contract. . . . Bob Forte, a defensive back for the Green Bay Packers for eight seasons and a member of the team’s Hall of Fame, died in Dallas at 73. . . . Homer Smith, former UCLA offensive coordinator and the offensive coordinator at Alabama for the last two years, accepted the same position at the University of Arizona. . . . Ozzie Newsome, a former tight end for the Cleveland Browns, was appointed director of football operations for the NFL franchise in Baltimore.

Tennis

Mats Wilander and Karel Novacek asked a court in London to stop the International Tennis Federation from continuing an investigation into alleged cocaine use by them.

The American-based players, who were not in the courtroom, deny the allegations and want the ITF’s proceedings against them postponed until a court can rule on the validity of testing procedures that found them positive for cocaine at last year’s French Open.

Olympics

Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell criticized Michael Bowers, Georgia’s attorney general, for saying the 1996 Olympic city may be more dangerous than Sarajevo, the war-torn Bosnian capital that hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics.

“Attorney General Bowers should be ashamed of himself,” Campbell said. “Where does he get off comparing Atlanta to Sarajevo? His comments are reckless, irresponsible and inaccurate.”

Bowers said he was glad his comments shook the mayor.

“It should irk the mayor good,” he said. “Maybe he’ll do something about crime now.”

Miscellany

Jeff King coasted into Nome, Alaska, two hours ahead of defending champion Doug Swingley to win his second Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. King, a former Northern Californian who learned to drive a dog team as a forest ranger, finished the 1,151-mile mushing marathon with a time of 9 days 5 hours 43 minutes, second best in the history of the race. King earned $50,000 for winning.

France’s Thierry Peponnet won all four of his races at Long Beach to lead the 32nd Congressional Cup match-racing regatta after the first of five days of sailing. San Diego’s Peter Isler, the Virgin Islands’ Peter Holmberg and New Zealand’s Gavin Brady were at 3-1 in the 10-boat fleet.