| | Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Oakland Raiders wide receiver Andre
Rison was charged Thursday with four counts of passing bad checks
totaling $158,000, the Jackson County prosecutor's office said.
Rison signed with the Raiders on Monday. Oakland was playing an
exhibition game at home against Seattle on Thursday night.
On Thursday night in Oakland, Rison caught two passes for 49
yards as the Raiders beat Seattle 20-0 in their preseason finale.
Afterward, he wasn't talking about the charges.
"I don't know anything about it," said Rison, who signed with
the Raiders on Monday. "Right now I'm a Raider and those things
will be resolved."
The alleged incidents took place between June 1998 and December
1998, while Rison, 33, was with the Kansas City Chiefs.
If convicted, Rison could get five years in prison.
Prosecutors hope Rison will surrender when he comes to Kansas
next month for trial on theft charges there. There are no immediate
plans to arrest him in California, said David Baker, Jackson
County's chief deputy prosecutor.
"This warrant covers Kansas and Missouri," Baker said.
"Normally, you open up a warrant nationwide, but if he's arrested
in California, the taxpayers of Missouri would have to pay to
transport him back here."
According to the complaint, the checks were all written to the
same busines, Elif Fine Jewelry, of Decatur, Ga. In the complaint,
store owner Ali Aydin said Rison bought jewelry from him on six
occasions. The charges cover the last four.
"What a lot players do is write checks and they don't know
whether the account is closed or not," said Charles Tucker, who
serves as Rison's contract adviser. "He does silly stuff sometimes
because he doesn't pay attention to things like that."
Thursday's charges are the latest in a series of legal struggles
for Rison, waived by the Chiefs Aug. 14 after three years and
picked up a week later by the Raiders.
One week before being cut by the Chiefs, Rison was cited by
police in River Falls, Wis., site of Kansas City's training camp.
In the citation, officers alleged that he lied to them about his
name following a bar fight.
Rison allegedly gave his name to one officer as "Brock
Middlebrook," but one of the other officers recognized him as
Rison.
The offense is not considered criminal; Rison was fined $219.50
and has an appearance in municipal court set for Sept. 13.
Rison is also accused of stealing a $1,000 tape recorder from an
Overland Park, Kan., business. That trial is set for next month in
Olathe, Kan.
If Rison does not return to Kansas, Baker said, a nationwide
warrant would likely be issued. The Raiders are scheduled to play
at Kansas City on Oct. 15.
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