SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) -The former county prosecutor who tried Jayson Williams for manslaughter in 2004 asserted Wednesday that he was unsure when he learned that one of his subordinates used a racial slur to describe the former NBA star.
Steven Lember, who was First Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor until his resignation in 2007, was questioned for a second day by Williams’ attorney. The defense team is seeking to show that the investigation was tainted by racial bias and is urging a judge to overturn Williams’ cover-up convictions
The racial epithet was used by former Capt. William Hunt at an office meeting in 2002. Lember said he believed he didn’t learn about it until after the trial, but he couldn’t be positive.
g as to when it became clear in my mind.”
Lember’s testimony contradicted that of his former boss, current Hunterdon County Prosecutor J. Patrick Barnes, who testified Tuesday that Hunt admitted during an early 2003 meeting that he had used the slur and that that Lember was present when Hunt made the admission.
Lember denied being at the 2003 meeting. He testified Wednesday that Barnes told him to contact the state Division of Criminal Justice to investigate the incident, but that Barnes gave no specifics about it.
Prosecutors have said that Hunt played a minor role in the investigation and didn’t testify at the first trial, but defense attorneys noted that he was one of the first officers at the scene and later was responsible for transporting evidence and coordinating witnesses.
Williams was acquitted in 2004 of aggravated manslaughter in the death of hired driver Costas Christofi, who was killed by a shotgun blast at Williams’ central New Jersey mansion. He was convicted of trying to cover up the crime and faces retrial on a reckless manslaughter count.
Witnesses to the shooting testified at the first trial that Williams snapped the gun shut and it fired, hitting Christofi in the chest, and that Williams told them to lie to police about what happened.
al. Williams’ attorneys claim they should have been notified before the trial.
Williams retired in 2000 after nine seasons in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets. He has been free on bail since the shooting.
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