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| Wednesday, May 2 Updated: May 3, 12:58 PM ET Associated Press | |||
SEATTLE – Cleveland Browns draft pick Jeremiah Pharms will
plead innocent to a first-degree robbery charge, his attorney said
Thursday.
Seattle lawyer John Wolfe said he had not yet seen the charging
papers from the King County prosecutor's office.
"I don't know anything about it," he said of the case, but
said he had spoken with Pharms. "That's just the way the system
works."
Pharms, a former Washington linebacker, is accused of shooting
and pistol-whipping a man for $1,500 worth of marijuana last year.
He was released Wednesday on $250,000 bail in his hometown of
Sacramento, Calif., where he was arrested Tuesday night by Seattle
detectives.
If convicted of first-degree robbery, Pharms could be sentenced
to as long as 8½ years in prison. The father of three could face
additional charges because county Prosecutor Norm Maleng alleges
Pharms was the shooter at the robbery near the Washington campus.
Browns coach Butch Davis said he called Washington's coaches and
Pharms' agent and mother after hearing of the arrest. The Browns
took Pharms in the fifth round with the 134th overall pick in last
month's draft.
"This was kind of a shock to everybody," Davis said Wednesday.
"But one of the most horrible things you can do is jump to a
conclusion."
An arraignment was scheduled for May 9.
Pharms, a 6-foot-1, 250-pound outside linebacker, played on the
Huskies' winning Rose Bowl team in January. He has not been signed
by the Browns.
Pharms is accused of robbing a man of a quarter-pound of
marijuana at a house in March 2000. The man was shot in the leg and
the bullet lodged in his chest.
Investigators say they found a bloody glove issued by the
Washington football team in a car at the scene. DNA tests completed
recently show the blood on the glove belonged to Pharms and the
victim, Maleng said.
Washington coach Rick Neuheisel and athletic director Barbara
Hedges were in Phoenix for Pac-10 meetings. They said the first
they heard of Pharms' case was on Tuesday, an athletic department
spokeswoman said.
Maleng said the Washington coaching staff was not advised of the
investigation.
Relatives of Pharms, reached by telephone Wednesday in the
Sacramento area, declined to comment.
Browns president Carmen Policy said Pharms won't attend the
team's mini-camp this weekend.
"We have discussed the matter with his agent and feel it is
best for Jeremiah to be with his family and focus on his defense
against these charges," Policy said.
Pharms' record shows several previous minor infractions,
including an expired driver's license and an expired dog license,
King County prosecutor's spokesman Dan Donohoe said Wednesday.
Pharms missed Washington's spring drills last year to focus on
academics.
Browns owner Al Lerner said the team's background check on
Pharms was not as thorough as it would have been if he had been
picked in the first or second round.
Even so, Cleveland would appear to have an advantage over other
teams in researching players – its director of security, Lewis
Merletti, served as director of the U.S. Secret Service under three
presidents.
Policy said he was confident the team was diligent in checking
all the players selected.
"I don't think this is a situation that slipped through the
cracks," he said.
Davis said he spoke with Neuheisel three days before the draft
and asked him about Pharms and other players.
"They gave a glowing report," Davis said.
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