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Sheriff's deputy facing charges
10/14/2006
Steve Jefferson/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis - There are questions surrounding marijuana found after a strip club fight involving two Indiana Pacers. Specifically, did the marijuana belong to player Jamaal Tinsley? And what about Tinsley's friend, Raymel Mattox? To what extent was he involved in that fight?

One week after a fight and shooting at a west side strip club shook the Pacers basketball team and its fans, there are allegations of preferential treatment.

"It appears as though there is a double standard," said Marty Solomon, attorney for Deon Willford. Willford, also known as "Dino," is the man prosecutors say hit NBA star Stephen Jackson with his car and fled the scene.

It happened at a west side strip club last week during a fight between Willford's crew and several indiana Pacers and their friends. Jackson says he fired his 9 millimeter during the fight in self defense.

"The actions of Stephen Jackson on the night of this accident by shooting a deadly weapon in a public place are more egregious than the actions of Deon Willford," Solomon said.

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi insists no one is above the law, not even millionaire athletes. "No one is above the law, no matter how much money you have."

Eventually Willford surrendered to police to face charges of criminal recklessness, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and driving unlicensed. But officers on the scene that night only detained Jackson and made no arrests after finding drugs in Pacers player Jamaal Tinsley's SUV.

The probable cause states police stopped Jamaal Tinsley's SUV with him seated in the front passenger's seat. That's where an officer spotted a bag of marijuana in the front passenger's side door compartment. But Solomon says after Tinsley refused ownership, "with the utmost respect would be yes - he should have been arrested for constructive possession of marijuana."

Prosecutor Carl Brizzi says there is a reason for not charging Tinsley. Twenty-four hours after the incident, Tinsley's friend Raymel Mattox admitted to possessing the Marijuana in Tinsley's SUV. Despite witnesses saying Tinsley started the fight, Mattox admitted he started the fight outside the club.

As Jackson hopes for game time on the court, the attorney for the man accused of hitting him says he's prepared for court. "I got my stitches out this morning and I am just going with the team," Jackson said. "I am just happy to come out and play."

Jackson returned to basketball practice Friday.

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