More Tales of the Jayson Williams Ranch

[Bored 0]

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/b...64320322760.xml

 

Six months before he shot and killed a limousine driver at his Hunterdon County estate, former Nets star Jayson Williams allegedly killed his own dog with a shotgun and then threatened a house guest with the same fate if he didn't clean up the dog's remains.

 

But the alleged incident, described by another former Nets player, Dwayne Schintzius, will not be heard by jurors in Williams' aggravated-manslaughter trial, which begins next week. A judge in Somerville ruled yesterday that it is inadmissible as evidence because of its prejudicial nature.

 

 

Acting on an anonymous tip, Hunterdon County investigators tracked down Schintzius -- Williams' teammate on the Nets in the early 1990s --in Florida and interviewed him about a night of dining and drinking at the Mountain View Chalet with Williams and another friend, Chris Duckrey, on Aug. 8, 2001.

 

The three men returned to Williams' Alexandria Township estate around 2 a.m. There they found Williams' dog, Zeus, a 130- to 150-pound Rottweiler, waiting in the foyer, court papers said.

 

Schintzius, who had been living at Williams' house while training to get back into playing condition, bet Williams $100 he could drag the trained attack dog out of the house, according to court documents.

 

Even with Williams shouting attack commands at the dog, Schintzius was able to grab the animal by the back legs and drag it out to the front porch, Schintzius said. He then told Williams he wanted the money for winning the bet, and Williams went back into the house, according to court documents.

 

Schintzius told investigators: "And the next thing I know, I see a dark figure come out of the front door and put one shotgun round in Zeus' side. The first one hit him in the side and then the second one proceeded to pretty much decapitate the dog."

 

He and Duckrey stayed outside, stunned, while Williams went back into the house, according to court documents. Williams' brother, Victor, arrived home and said, "Who shot my dog?" and Schintzius told him, "Your brother did, Vic."

 

Victor told Williams' father, and then Williams and his father went into a bedroom and started talking, Schintzius said.

 

"But just then Jayson comes back out, looks me dead in my eyes, puts two fresh rounds into the double-barrel shotgun, snaps the thing closed, points it at me, and says, 'Shinbone, get this f-- ---- dog off of my porch or you're next,' and pointed the gun right at me.

 

"And I said, 'Hey, man.' I said, 'Whatever, bro.' I said, 'This is your world, dude."

 

Schintzius said he wrapped the dog's body in bedsheets and he and Williams' brother buried it on the property, according to court documents.

 

Two weeks later, Williams wrote out a check for $500 to the Hunterdon County SPCA, according to a list of donations provided by Williams' public relations firm.

 

The account of the shooting was given in open court yesterday by Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Katharine Errickson and is offered in more detail in papers filed in Flemington by the prosecutor's office.

 

Errickson was asking Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman to allow the stories of the shooting, the pointing of the gun at Schintzius and an earlier gun incident. Such evidence of prior bad acts by a defendant can be admitted under certain limited conditions.

 

Errickson argued that the defense's "mantra" since the day of the shooting of limousine driver Costas "Gus" Christofi, 55, of Washington, Warren County, two years ago has been that the death was a "tragic accident." Errickson said the prior acts help prove the state's position that the death of Christofi was the result of "preventable, avoidable, reckless conduct."

 

Because of its potentially inflammatory nature, there are several tests such evidence must pass to be admissible. But Coleman found, among other things, that the value of the evidence toward proving the state's case was outweighed by the prejudicial nature of the acts.

 

He also found the acts dissimilar enough -- the shooting of the dog was intentional, the shooting of the limo driver unintentional -- to reject the state's application to present it to jurors.

 

Separately, Coleman said he would permit evidence that a blood test of Williams taken eight hours after the shooting showed alcohol in his system, but not evidence that the level was 0.12 percent, which is above the 0.10 percent legal limit for driving. He also said he would allow testimony from witnesses who have told investigators Williams told them not to talk to police until his attorney arrived.

 

Also admissible will be evidence that Williams repeatedly taunted and mocked Christofi in the hours leading up to the shooting. Williams allegedly cursed at him just as the shotgun fired, hitting the driver in the chest and killing him within a few minutes.

 

The state also will be allowed to tell jurors that four of the six weapons police found in a gun case in Williams' bedroom -- the same gun case from which he drew the weapon that killed Christofi -- were loaded.

 

Jury selection from a pool of 64 people, who have already been questioned at length, is to begin Monday morning in Somerville. The case was moved there from Hunterdon County because of excessive pretrial publicity. If the jury is seated and sworn in early enough, opening arguments could take place later in the day.

 

 

 

Staff writer Matthew J. Dowling contributed to this report.

[Mik 0]

That's disgusting. I hope he rots in jail.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Good God almighty!

[2GOLD 0]

Ummm...if this is true then Jay has some serious issues.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Ummm...if this is true then Jay has some serious issues.

It might not be true. But, with all the stories that have come out about Williams. I'll lean towards believing it.

[Steviekick 0]

This whole thing is quite disturbing.

[DerangedHermit 0]

What a sick fuck.