Case against Green to be dropped
Andy Nelesen
3/21/2006
Prosecutors today are expected to drop a domestic violence case against Green Bay Packers running back Ahman Green.
A misdemeanor prosecution has been pending since May 10, when Green, 29, was charged with disorderly conduct-domestic abuse, stemming from an April 25 dispute with his wife, Heather, inside their Ledgeview home.
"Circumstances have changed since the original complaint was filed that brought us to the point that a jury would not convict if this case were to go to trial," Brown County District Attorney John Zakowski said Monday. "Given some of the conversations our office has had with the victim, we feel it is appropriate that we go in this direction. Now, given her posture, it would be unlikely that we could secure a conviction."
Attorney Robert Janssen, who in late August helped hammer out a continuance agreement in which Green avoided criminal prosecution, said his client was glad to have the case resolved.
"Mr. Green is pleased with the decision of the district attorney's office," said Janssen, one of three lawyers involved in Green's defense. "He now wants to focus on his family life."
The continuance agreement was drafted to keep Green clear of any NFL sanctions. The deal had prosecutors dropping the charge against Green if he stayed out of trouble for one year, completed violence counseling and performed 100 hours of community service. The agreement — expected to become moot today — was effective Aug. 31.
Last month, Green's lawyers informed the court they were rejecting the agreement and wanted to take the case to trial.
"Mr. Green maintains his innocence and is prepared to proceed to trial," Jackson Main, one of his lawyers, said at the Feb. 21 hearing.
A pre-trial conference had been set for today with a jury trial on the calendar for Wednesday. Green, nor his attorneys, are expected in court today when prosecutors are expected to ask to have the misdemeanor case dismissed.
Zakowski said Assistant District Attorney Julie Duquaine is expected to make a formal record endorsing the dismissal.
Green has been involved in some of the counseling mandated by the continuance agreement and completed some of the community service, Zakowski said.
Green, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, has been the Packers' starting halfback since 2001, but was injured for much of the 2005 season. He recently signed an incentive-laden 1-year, $1.75 million deal with the Packers for the 2006 season.
Green served his wife with divorce paperwork three days after his arrest, but the matter was dismissed in December. Janssen said the couple is still together.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the case:
Heather Green called 911 during the dispute but Ahman Green allegedly hung up the phone while she was talking to emergency dispatchers. When 911 operators called back, Ahman Green allegedly twice hung up the phone without talking to dispatchers. On a third call, Ahman Green told dispatchers that his wife had left the house.
When Brown County Sheriff's deputies talked with Heather Green, she told them she and Ahman Green had been arguing, that he was slamming doors inside the home and was yelling at her so loud that his spit was hitting her face.
Investigating deputies noted that Heather Green was not injured and no property was damaged.
Ahman Green told deputies that it was an argument between a husband and wife and that Heather Green had a habit of exaggerating when they gotinto fights. Green also told deputies that he hung up the phone because he believed the call had not gone through.
Green discussed the situation with deputies, but became agitated as their questions continued and they refused to leave his house. Green tensed when officers told him he was under arrest and instructed him place his hands behind his back, prompting one deputy to unholster a Taser stun gun. Green then complied.
Green was arrested at the scene and jailed briefly, bailing himself out by posting $150 cash.
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