Wednesday, July 3, 1996
Defense Suggests Officers 'Got Stories Straight'
By STEFANI G. KOPENEC
Associated Press Writer
(July 3, 1996)
DALLAS (AP) - Irving police officers met with prosecutors
five times to discuss what happened the night Michael Irvin was
found in a motel room with cocaine and marijuana, testimony in
the Dallas Cowboys receiver's drug trial showed Wednesday.
During cross-examination of the trial's first witness, defense
attorney Kevin Clancy asked officer Matthew Drumm about the meetings
and suggested "y'all got your stories straight."
"That almost sounds like we made something up. No,"
said Drumm, the lead officer called to the Residence Inn in March
on what he termed a routine disturbance call that possibly involved
prostitution.
Later, responding to a question on the same issue, Drumm said
the officers' stories weren't "different from each of us
to start with."
Clancy then quizzed Drumm about the location within the room
of Irvin and the three other people when police went inside after
detecting what Drumm called "the immediate heavy odor of
burning marijuana."
Clancy tried attacking the officer's credibility by questioning
him about previous testimony he'd given relating to Irvin's position
in the room and what he said Wednesday.
Pointing to two diagrams charting where Irvin was that night,
Clancy suggested that Drumm changed his mind about where the
football star was after meeting with prosecutors.
"Now after your discussions, you're trying to put him in
the whole general area," Clancy said.
"Honestly," Drumm said, "I feel like you're trying
to narrow me down to where Michael Irvin was standing when it's
such a narrow area. In my opinion, it's all the same area, Mr.
Clancy. I'm not trying to trick you."
Drumm's testimony and the prosecution's opening statements on
Tuesday pinpointed Irvin sitting alone on a loveseat underneath
which officers found a large dinner plate with marijuana. Two
topless dancers, Angela Beck and Jennipher Nabwangu, were on
a nearby sofa.
Drumm said Wednesday that another officer told them to sit down
and that Alfredo Roberts, Irvin's former teammate, was standing
at the top of the stairs. Officer Les Motheral drew his pistol
and ordered Roberts downstairs after he didn't immediately come
down, Drumm testified.
Drumm testified Tuesday that police found several packages of
marijuana and cocaine (both in powder and rock form), rolling
papers, razor blades and a glass vial with white residue in the
room.
Two cocaine packages were found in a gym bag belonging to Beck,
the only one arrested that night. A grand jury later indicted
Irvin and Nabwangu. Roberts was not indicted.
On Wednesday, he said officers also found a bottle of Crown Royal
whiskey and some wine in the room.
The trial will not resume until Monday because of the July Fourth
holiday, stretching the case into a third different week and
coming closer to the opening of Cowboys training camp, which
is July 17 in Austin.
If convicted, Irvin could face between probation and 20 years
in jail. The NFL likely will wait for the verdict before deciding
whether Irvin violated the league's substance abuse policy.
All content copyright 1996, AP, The Abilene
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