Witness Puts Carruth at Scene

Rae Carruth sat in his car while his pregnant girlfriend was fatally shot a few feet behind him, then drove away when the firing stopped, a man charged in the attack testified Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C.

Michael Eugene Kennedy, who like Carruth is charged with murder, described in detail the shooting of Cherica Adams in November 1999. He took the stand without a plea agreement.

Another man, Van Brett Watkins, has confessed to shooting Adams and agreed to testify against Carruth. A fourth man, Stanley Drew “Boss” Abraham, is accused of helping in the plot and also charged with murder.

Kennedy said Carruth asked him to take Watkins to pick up a gun and wait for him to call. When Carruth phoned to say he was leaving his home, the men caught up with Carruth and Adams, who were in separate vehicles, at an intersection and followed them, he said.

Carruth, at the time a receiver for the Carolina Panthers, went over a hill and stopped abruptly, and Adams stopped behind him, Kennedy testified.

“I pulled behind her and Watkins told me to pull beside her car,” he said. “Then he started shooting at her car.”

Kennedy said Watkins fired four or five times rapidly into Adams’ car. Carruth’s white Ford Expedition remained stopped about a foot in front of it the entire time, he said.

Carruth’s attorney, David Rudolf, described Kennedy’s testimony as “desperation, pure and simple.”

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The son of former Laker guard Archie Clark is charged in Lexington, Neb., with having more than 140 pounds of marijuana in a van. Archie Clark Jr., 31, of Brooklyn Park, Minn., was stopped for speeding while driving on Interstate 80 in south-central Nebraska on Sept. 17, State Patrol Trooper Dan Covert said.

Baseball

The Cincinnati Reds traded right-hander Steve Parris to the Toronto Blue Jays for two minor league pitchers. The Reds also released outfielder Brian Hunter, acquired from Colorado last season. . . . Stan Kasten, president of the Atlanta Braves, said he will hold the team’s payroll below $90 million next season--suggesting that the Braves probably won’t acquire both shortstop Alex Rodriguez and left-hander Mike Hampton. . . . Right-hander Francisco Cordova and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a one-year contract. Last week, the Pirates declined to pick up Cordova’s $3.85-million option for 2001 but hoped to re-sign him at a lower salary. . . . Reliever Alan Embree of the San Francisco Giants had surgery on his left elbow.

The Baltimore Orioles are concerned about the actions of prospect Ntema Ndungidi, who unexpectedly left his Arizona Fall League team after acting strangely. Ndungidi, a 21-year-old native of Zaire, allegedly tried to take infield practice in street clothes, talked to his locker and yelled at teammates before leaving the club before the end of its season.

Milwaukee Brewer fans who bought wooden seats from County Stadium as souvenirs are being offered a full refund if they don’t want to deal with a potential lead-paint problem. Those who purchased $150 green wooden seats will get a mailing next week warning them the seats may contain lead-based paint and offering a full refund.

Colleges

UCLA men’s water polo player Adam Wright will not play the remainder of the season after his temporary restraining order was dissolved Wednesday in a Santa Monica courthouse.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg ruled for the NCAA, which sided with the Pacific 10 Conference’s decision to declare Wright ineligible because the senior had technically exhausted his eligibility last season.

Wright sat out all but the first match of his freshman season because of a shoulder injury and sought to redshirt, but a medical hardship waiver was never filed by his coach, Guy Baker, to the Pac-10 or the NCAA.

Miscellany

Top-seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden, playing well despite a bad cold, defeated Christian Ruud of Norway, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of the Stockholm Open. Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Mark Philippoussis of Australia pulled out because of a knee injury. . . . Unseeded American Paul Goldstein upset sixth-seeded Greg Rusedski of Britain, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the first round of the Samsung Open at Brighton, England.

Embattled Olympic organizers in Athens promised to move up construction deadlines by five months on key venues for the 2004 Games. The accelerated building program could ease a major worry among International Olympic Committee executives, who had warned Athens’ planners that further stumbles could endanger the Games.

Casey Wade, director of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said in Lausanne, Switzerland, that new studies suggesting that dietary supplements commonly taken by athletes can cause positive tests for banned steroids won’t make the group’s task any more difficult. . . . Over-the-counter supplements of the substance once used by Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals may cause urine to test positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone, new research shows.

The skipper and crew of the Oracle Racing America’s Cup challenger dived into the water when a 21-ton keel snapped off their racing yacht off Auckland, New Zealand. The crew was picked up by chase boats and there were no injuries.

The season-opening World Cup Nordic combined event on Nov. 28-29 at Lillehammer, Norway, was canceled Wednesday because of heavy snow in the 1994 Winter Olympic city. . . . The San Diego Gulls (10-5-1) scored four goals in the second period, including two on power plays, in a 5-3 victory over the Long Beach Ice Dogs (9-3-5) in a West Coast Hockey League game at Long Beach Arena.

Gov. Gray Davis appointed television producer Alan W. Landsburg of Beverly Hills to the California Horse Racing Board.

Francesco Bertolotti, an Italian soccer player who has been in a coma since he was punched by an opponent, showed some encouraging signs.