Lawyer for UTEP Star Stefon Jackson Says No Laws Broken
Associated Press
EL PASO — The lawyer for UTEP basketball star Stefon Jackson said there is no evidence that justified police charging the 21-year-old junior with hindering an investigation into a Pennsylvania shooting.
Jackson, the nation's seventh-leading scorer last season, is accused of lying to authorities last week about the whereabouts of a cousin from Philadelphia who was wanted on a felony warrant.
According to an arrest affidavit, Jackson told a sheriff's deputy Friday he had not seen Willie Harden in two weeks. Harden was later arrested at a fast-food restaurant near the UTEP campus.
Dolph Quijano, Jackson's attorney, said there is no evidence Jackson knew his cousin was a fugitive sought on six federal counts, including two attempted murder charges.
"None of the accusations he is accused of doing he has done," Quijano said in Thursday's editions of the El Paso Times. "He committed no crime whatsoever."
Jackson is charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He posted bond within hours of being jailed Tuesday.
Jackson declined to comment to the newspaper Wednesday.
The affidavit does not specify whether the deputy told Jackson his cousin was wanted on a felony warrant. Quijano said the law requires that evidence must show Jackson knew his cousin was a fugitive in order for his actions to be construed as a felony.
Jesus Tovar, a spokesman for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, said the affidavit does not include all the details that led to Jackson's arrest.
"We arrest people with solid evidence," he said. "We aren't going to arrest someone just because they are associated to someone."
Jackson averaged 23.6 points last season and has led UTEP in scoring the past two years. When police arrested Jackson, they found another man wanted on a homicide warrant out of Jackson's hometown of Philadelphia. Jackson has not been charged related to that suspect.
Authorities say Harden, Jackson's cousin, is responsible for a March 14 shooting that wounded five people in New Castle, Pa.
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