Iverson Troubles In 2002
Police Official Says Stains in Iverson's Car Weren't Blood
Believes Stains Came From Iverson's Kids

By DAVID B. CARUSO
.c The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (July 15) -- Stains found in Allen Iverson's car, initially believed by investigators to be smeared blood, turned out not to be bloodstains, a police official said Monday.

Detectives found broken glass in the Cadillac Escalade frequently driven by Iverson's wife, but a police official speaking on condition of anonymity said investigators later determined the stains were some other substance and were not related to the smashed glass.

"His kids ride in the car. We think that the stains probably came from the kids,'' the official said. "It's definitely not blood.''

He declined to say how the determination was made.

Police searched Iverson's suburban Philadelphia home and seized the car Thursday, looking for evidence to back charges that he forced his way into a cousin's apartment with a gun July 3 while looking for his wife.

The Associated Press and Philadelphia Daily News, citing sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported over the weekend that the search hadn't turned up a gun, but that investigators had found broken glass and bloodstains in the car.

According to court records, police were looking for firearms, cell phones, cell phone records and automobile repair receipts.

Police said Iverson's wife, Tawanna Iverson, had checked into a hotel on July 1 and that Iverson, apparently upset, had gone there looking for her shortly before 3AM ET on July 3.

At the hotel, he told security guards he was looking for a car with smashed windows, according to court records. He left without finding it, police said.

Prosecutors said that during the same evening, Iverson and his uncle, Gregory Iverson, barged into a Philadelphia apartment and threatened the two men inside. One of the witnesses said Iverson was carrying a gun.

Iverson was to turn himself in Tuesday to face charges of trespassing, assault, making threats, unlawful restraint and carrying a gun without a license. Gregory Iverson also faces charges.

Allen Iverson's attorneys have repeatedly declined to comment on the case.


No longer does anyone wonder if Allen Iverson is the Answer, as he professes to be in the basketball vernacular; all we need now is the answer to charges that he forced his way into his cousin's apartment with a gun on July 3 in search of his wife.
This is just the latest of too many brushes with the law for the Philadelphia 76ers All-Star guard and 2001 NBA MVP, once again bringing to light his affinity for bad judgment.


And if proven, this is certainly his most heinous act, if it is true that he threw his wife of 11 months -- and mother of their two children -- Tawanna out of their mansion and forced his way into the apartment of his cousin Shaun Bowman with a gun hoping to find her in the middle of the night. Neither Tawanna nor Bowman was in the apartment, but Bowman's roommate Charles Jones was, and he immediately called 911 after Iverson allegedly left with the uncle who accompanied him.
Iverson is charged with multiple offenses, including terroristic threats, illegal possession of an unregistered gun, simple assault and criminal trespassing according to the district attorney's office.
And we thought most of his problems stemmed from not wanting to practice for coach Larry Brown and with his teammates? Brown and general manager Billy King held a news conference Thursday to deal with the issues. King took the obvious stance that he is innocent until proven guilty. That is true when it comes to the crime. There is little question he used bad judgment again.
"I don't know what happened," Brown said. "I don't think anyone knows what happened. I am just hopeful that this thing gets resolved and this kid can move on with his life and that's the only thing that is important right now. I've talked to him a few times and he is hurting."
This is merely symptomatic of the problem with Iverson. It's too late to say this is just a matter of youth, even though just having celebrated his 27th birthday hardly makes him middle-aged. His desire to be real actually comes down to just being real dumb when it comes down to many of the decisions he makes in life.
Now he has the answer for why he doesn't receive the respect from the media he perceives is lacking. When you lack respect for society, it isn't going to come back. It would not be overstating the fact that he receives too much respect for the simple quirk of fate that he is a marvelous athlete. His Sixers jersey is the top selling licensed product in the NBA if you want to call that respect. And this is a guy who was about to cut a rap album two years ago with lyrics so reprehensible that people from all walks of life were filing complaints with the NBA until he was finally coerced by NBA commissioner David Stern to clean it up. Fortunately, the album has not been released anyway.
Again, we're just talking about really bad judgment. Funny thing is, people in general -- fans, media and NBA officials -- were all hoping he was turning the corner as success continued to mount. He has an affable, clever wit and a beautiful smile with huge eyes that twinkle with excitement. He drips with charisma. And while he drives Brown crazy with his erratic behavior, there is little doubt about the feelings Brown has for his star.
"He's family," Brown said. " We're all concerned about it. We all want to support him. There's a lot of people hurting in this situation right now. He is a teammate and a friend. We want to get this resolved the right way. Fortunately, we have a legal system that handles matters like this. It's not going to affect one way how we feel about him or anything about our team. We are just concerned about him right now."
That's provided he plays. If found guilty, a stiff suspension for Iverson is inevitable from the NBA; depending on the charges. That's a problem for the league too, considering he is one of the top five players in the league. Iverson won the scoring and steals title this season, nearly single-handedly leading the battered and bruised Sixers out of the first round against Boston, similarly to the way he led them to the 2001 Eastern Conference title. But it wasn't to be this season. Then his postseason news conference condemning practice, although humorous at times and certainly entertaining from start to finish, still proved his priorities as a team leader are woefully misdirected, and at least incredibly immature.
This all began when he was in high school in the tough town of Hampton, Va. He spent four months in prison when he was 18 for his role in a bowling alley brawl, with his early release coming via clemency from the governor and a little more than a year later, the conviction was overturned. What role he played in the fracas isn't as important now as it being the first indication he has no clue about using good judgment when it comes to friends or situations he needs to leave.
Five years ago, he was a passenger in his own car that was stopped and he had an unregistered gun and a couple of marijuana joints. It took 100 hours of community service and two years of drug testing from the NBA to clear his record.
Evidently, he still has not learned.
He is such an enormously gifted athlete. And no doubt much of his success has come from his fearless, street-wise approach to any situation. At barely 6-feet tall and 160 pounds, he will back down from no one, whether it's another whippet-quick guard or 7-1, 360-pound Shaquille O'Neal. His macho swagger ignites the extraordinary, strength, quickness, touch and hand/eye coordination that has allowed an undersized shooting guard to average 26.9 points a game, including two consecutive scoring titles.
But none of that matters right now. This has nothing to do with basketball. As Iverson has said before when given the forum, this is about life! Well dig this A.I.: In one fell swoop, your life changed and so did that of your kids. When the Sixers won the Eastern Conference in 2001 and ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, hardly a news conference went by when Iverson didn't have his two children sitting on his lap. He talks incessantly about his son Allen Iverson II -- better known as Deuce -- whenever given the opportunity. He was upset at the media at the end of this season because Deuce's friends were talking about the possibility of him getting traded.
And now, even though nothing has been proven, the story is everywhere for Deuce to hear all about daddy going after mommy with a gun in tow. Whose fault is that?
We're talking about a superstar basketball player in the middle of an million contract with a wife and two young children.
Yo A.I., want to talk about real? That we even have to address this issue is just real dumb; so get a grip on the guy in the mirror, will ya? Right now, he's the enemy.
Allen Iverson is a star on the court but he can't seem to get his life in order off of it

Iverson facing 54 years in prison on several charges

PHILADELPHIA -- Allen Iverson was ordered to stay in his .4 million home until next week, when his lawyer returns from Europe to defend him on charges he forced his way into his cousin's apartment with a gun.
"If Iverson is seen on the street or out partying, we will arrest him," Johnson said.
Iverson and an uncle are accused of barging into a cousin's apartment on the morning of July 3 as the Philadelphia 76ers guard searched for his wife, Tawanna. Iverson is said to have thrown her out of their house naked during a dispute, according to tapes of a 911 call obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Police searched Iverson's mansion and his uncle's home Thursday, looking for the gun and other evidence.
Iverson, a former NBA MVP, will be charged with criminal trespass, simple assault, terroristic threats and gun offenses, District Attorney Lynne Abraham said. Four of the counts are felonies. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 54 years in prison.
Iverson's uncle, Gregory Iverson, 39, was also charged with criminal trespass, simple assault, terroristic threats and other offenses.
"We had two complaints we felt were credible. Detectives did a very thorough, complete and professional investigation," Johnson said.
Sixers coach Larry Brown and general manager Billy King said they will support Iverson during the legal process. Brown spoke to Iverson on Thursday and said his star player is "hurting."
"I'm hopeful this thing gets resolved and this kid can move on with his life," Brown said. "He's part of our family and will always be a part of our family."
Iverson didn't find his wife and cousin Shaun Bowman when he went with his uncle to the Cobbs Creek Court apartment complex, authorities said. Bowman has lived there since March.
Bowman's roommate, Charles Jones, 21, told police the men forced their way into the apartment and demanded to know the whereabouts of Tawanna and Bowman, according to a police affidavit. A friend of Jones also was in the apartment.
Iverson "continuously threatened harm to the complainants and wanted Charles to make numerous phone calls to locate Tawanna and Shaun," court documents said

Allen Iverson reportedly threw his wife Tawanna out of the house naked the night of the fight
The 27-year-old player also "showed the complainants a black handgun" that had been tucked into his waistband, according to the documents. Iverson has no gun permit nor does he have a gun registered in Pennsylvania, police said.
Jones made the 911 call more than 10 hours after Iverson arrived, the Inquirer said. It wasn't clear how Jones obtained his information about the Iversons' dispute.
Iverson and his uncle eventually left the apartment and drove to a motel where Tawanna had rented two rooms, police said. After hotel officials failed to reach her, Iverson and his uncle began circling the parking lot looking for her SUV.
Police confronted the men and Iverson said he was looking for his wife, court documents said.
Iverson and his wife have not commented publicly. The two married in August, two months after Iverson led the 76ers to the NBA Finals for the first time in 18 years.
Iverson's dazzling play has made him one of the most popular NBA players, and his jersey is the league's top seller. But he's also been in trouble with his team and the NBA, squabbling with his coach and making a rap CD in 2000 that drew harsh criticism for disparaging women and gays.
Iverson's new lawyer is Richard Sprague, one of Philadelphia's most prominent defense attorneys. A former prosecutor, he investigated the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King for Congress and won a multimillion-dollar libel case against the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1996.
Iverson was arrested as a teen-ager in a Hampton, Va., bowling alley brawl in 1993 and spent four months in prison before then-Gov. Douglas Wilder granted clemency. The conviction was overturned on appeal in 1995.
In 1997, Iverson pleaded no contest to a gun charge after police near Richmond, Va., stopped a car in which he was a passenger and found a gun belonging to Iverson and two marijuana cigarettes. A marijuana-possession charge was dropped.
Iverson completed 100 hours of community service, two years of drug testing and three years' probation, after which his record was expunged.