Mesa Jury Is Given Rape Case

The jury in Jose Mesa’s rape trial can consider a lesser charge when it begins deliberating today, a day after the Cleveland Indian pitcher’s lawyer rested his case without calling any witnesses.

Cuyahoga County Judge Thomas Curran ruled Monday that the jury of six men and six women may consider whether Mesa was guilty of the reduced charge of gross sexual imposition, instead of a charge of rape.

The charge of rape is a felony with a three- to 10-year prison term. Gross sexual imposition also is a felony, but it carries a penalty of six to 18 months.

In addition, the judge threw out a felony assault charge against the star reliever, saying the state did not prove Mesa intended to hurt one of the two women bringing charges.

Mesa, 30, still faces two other gross sexual imposition charges that the judge said must go to the jury, along with a theft charge.

Defense lawyer Gerald Messerman rested his case without calling anyone to the stand. Then, in closing arguments, he mocked the police investigation and challenged the truthfulness of Mesa’s accusers.

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Roosevelt Wagner, a former Michigan State football player charged with drug trafficking, was listed in serious condition after complaining of chest pains in Ravenna, Ohio.

New Orleans Saint fullback Ray Zellars was arrested in Kenner, La., for reckless operation of a vehicle, driving while intoxicated and having no license.

Basketball

Paul Hewitt, 33, was named basketball coach at Siena. Hewitt was an assistant at Villanova for five years.

Dave Farrara, former assistant at Idaho, has replaced Kermit Davis as coach at the school. Davis quit last week to become associate coach at Louisiana State.

UC Irvine hired Todd Lee as an assistant men’s coach. Lee has spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Cal State Bakersfield. He worked at Bakersfield under Pat Douglass, recently hired as Irvine coach.

Tennis

Marc Rosset defeated Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, 6-2, 6-2, to reach the second round of the Salem Open in Hong Kong.

“I arrived here on Saturday and couldn’t practice much on Sunday because of rain,” he said. “I thought I would play on Tuesday, but the organizers put me on for Monday night. I am just happy to have won.”

Eighth-seeded Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic also reached the second round after defeating Russia’s Alexander Volkov, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Vacek had 12 aces in the 93-minute match.

Seventh-seeded Francisco Clavet rallied to beat unseeded Italian Andrea Gaudenzi, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round of the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal, the start of the European clay-court season.

The Spaniard, ranked 35th, struggled early. Gaudenzi, ranked 80th, reached last year’s final before losing to Thomas Muster.

Miscellany

The Baltimore Ravens signed free-agent defensive end Michael McCrary to a three-year, $6-million contract. McCrary, 26, started 13 games for the Seattle Seahawks last season and tied for the AFC lead with 13 1/2 sacks. He will be on the right side of a line that last season managed only 30 sacks and ranked last in the NFL in total defense.

The San Francisco 49ers became the first NFL team to implement a domestic partner policy for team employees and players. The new policy will extend health care and retirement benefits, as well as other entitlements to unmarried couples, Carmen Policy, the team’s president, said.

The Nike Shreveport Open, scheduled to be played Thursday through Sunday at Southern Trace Country Club, has been postponed because of severe flooding.