Rumor: Alston arrested for PI and Assault (CONFIRMED)

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That wasn't the entire deal for Haslem. That deal was being discussed no matter what you think.

 

Using that logic then the cops would never arrest anyone -- because if we are all innocent until proving guilty then you can never arrest a guilty person.

 

Cops weren't wrong for taking him into custody. He'd been drinking and you have some dude freaking out and flagging down the cops. If you have been drinking then the police aren't going to give you the benfit of the doubt. He will get his day to prove he's innocent of the assualt (spitting and grabbing the guys arm). Rafer was in the wrong too bro. However, the parking atendant is wrong for filing a false report (since technically you can be verbally assaulted but then he would be guilty of that also). Trying to get paid

 

Plenty of arrests don't result in prosecution or conviction. Police take guys in for public safety precautionary reasons, even when they know there's very little chance there is sufficient facts or evidence to make the charges stick. A friend of mine is a prosecutor (not in Houston), and he told they encourage officers to think public safety (and their own safety) let the prosecutors worry later about proving the charges and other legal issues.

 

I agree. That's why I have repeatedly maintained the police offers did nothing wrong in this situation. Rafer was wrong and the parking attendant was wrong.

Rafer should have just paid and got it over with but he didn't care and he had been drinking (not a good combination). That's where he is wrong. Instead of engaging in a verbal argument with Rafer and trading back and forth with him the attendant should have just signaled for a police officer to begin with. Then, it would all be on Rafer. What the attendant shouldn't have done was say Rafer spit in his face and grabbed his arm. Any way you slice it they are both in the wrong.

 

Stack said Rafer did spit on the attendant's face, if you're implying that is not correct.

 

It is a given that none of us have personal knowledge of what transpired so we are just guided by public accounts of what happened and common sense. It just doesn't make sense though how a parking attendant could concoct such an act as spitting on one's face. Rarely can anyone make that up in a split second. And police officers usually act only when there is probable cause to arrest the suspect. The police officer who was at the scene made a determination that there is probable cause that rafer was guilty of the offense charged , that would justify the warrantless arrest.

You don't need a warrant when , in your presence, the person to be arrested has committed , is actually committing or is attempting to commit an offense or when an offense has just been committed and he has probable cause to believe based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the person to be arrested has committed it.

So basically , the police officer found the parking attendant's account more believable and hence acted accordingly. Under rafer's version , he would have to be an innocent victim of a parking attendant who is a pathological liar and an erroneous determination by the police officer of probable cause.

It is all a matter of credibility. But in the ordinary course of things, it is more likely that a highly-paid NBA millionaire player ( who has been immune to any accountability on the basketball court ) would act like a spoiled brat and spit on someone's face than a lowly parking attendant to pick a fight with an NBA player and concoct stories.

But I agree it is a matter of credibility at this point. None of us really know for sure. But my personal opinion, I would give more weight to the actions of the police officer and parking attendant.

 

Legally, this is pretty minor stuff. The only thing I am worried about is if it affects his trade value. That's all.

But Rafer will be fine, this is no biggie...

 

Actually Stack reported what he heard. He never put himself into the situation of saying what happened he just reported the accounts of what he had heard happened.

I'm saying that Rafer did not spit or grab the parking attendant at all. Now, he was drinking and was in a heated argument with the parking attendant. personally, I don't doubt the guy was afraid. However, he did engange in the argument with rafer and that's it. Like Tiger said it's minor (can't believe we are agreeing). Nothing will come out of this except a guy attempting to make some money (which he won't) and Rafer possibly having to do some speaking or pay a fine for his PI (unless they decide to kick that charge as well). In the end, it's not going to effect his trade value. It's pretty low right now as most teams haver addressed their needs and we would need to put a package together to get something to help the team. We sat on him for too long.

 

I agree, the value for Rafer has been going down ever since last year. I mean he might be valuable on the backup spot, but no one in the league would start him primarily because of his sporadic shooting. And this in a little way lowers his value in my opinion. I mean who wants trouble on their team unless its trouble with talent?

 

It is minor stuff legally if he did not spit on the attendant's face. But if it is established that he did that despicable act and should the parking attendant decide to seek redress for that wrong , rafer can be held liable for his tortious conduct and he may have to shell out some dollars in the form of damages.

I think his trade value will be off the charts if JVG is hired by one of the NBA teams.

 

Haha, good one!!

 

Maybe he can get jail time for the entire season rather than paying a fine. That would definantly help the Rockets. He needs to take one for the team if we can't trade him. This would be his best chance to get a ring, by staying with the team and not playing.

 

He would be held liable if he even grabbed the guy. Personally instead of paying a fine I would prefer him to do some speaking on drinking and what not. Despite this, he's a really fan friendly guy who does give back to the community and it would be something good to do instead of just paying money. However, a PI is just punishable by a night in jail and fine so i doubt anything really happens. He's a really valuable backup pg actually. As a starter the market has dried up and he still has 3 years left on his deal with few teams having cap space left. We'll see what happens in the trade department. I've heard Cleveland but that's not a viable option for us and possibly Indiana.

 

People make up stories all the time to try and make a dollar of athletes. Look at what happened to the Duke Lacrosse kids. Not like this is even comprable but I'm just saying. Tons of NBA players have bs filed against them. Did you know that some federal prisoner actually filed a lawsuit for 63 billion dollars against Michael Vick because he claimed he stole his dogs, bred them to fight and sold them on eBay. He then claimed he used the money to buy missles from terrorists. An attorney friend of mine printed out the whole 3 pagess of that and gave it to me. You'd be suprised man. It's actually funny, but it's not.

 

That is certainly a possibility , man. But it usually takes an interval of time for an ordinary individual to make up a story , even creative writers need time for their creative mental faculties to work, from what I understand the parking dude called the cop and immeidately told him what happened. I just find it hard to believe from the context of the facts that someone would immediately recognize rafer and premeditate on the spot on how to get paid. Rafer isn't exactly michael jackson so I don't think an ordinary citizen would recognize him immediately but certainly , it is also possible that the parking attendant was a pathological liar and he made it up in a split-second.

Anyway, like michael jackson ( although more extreme in the latter's case) , even if rafer will be acquitted he will never regain from a court of justice what he has already lost in the court of public opinion.

For rafer's sake, lets hope he just got punk'd.

 

the night in jail and the fine are the penal sanctions referring to the criminal aspect of the case. A civil action , arising from the same act , for damages may render him liable for a more hefty sum of money.

I think thats what happened in Iverson's case when his bodyguards beat up a bouncer at a club. He had to pay damages for the transgressions although he was not criminally liable .

 

He was driving his red Bentley GT. That pretty much says you have money. They argued before the guy went to get the cops. It's a matter of whether you believe Rafer or the attendant. People can make up something so trivial quick. He didn't come with an elaborate story, just he grabbed his arm and spit in his face. Anything else their would be evidence of (like Rafer hitting him or something else). Plus, while they were arguing, and with rafer having been drinking, there's a decent probability that spit was coming out of his mouth when he was yelling. If the dude got hit in the face at some point that gives him the idea. We'll see. I choose to believe Skip and what I've been told because it's been accurate in the past. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to what I've been able to trust and not the unknown any day. I just think we need to get a trade done and move on.

 

Well, if he was that intoxicated (enough to get a PI) then it's a good thing, I would imagine, because he could have found his car fine and then got in and hurt himself, or others, or ended up with a DUI.

As for who is more believable, who knows. Also I read someone here say "he seems like such a likeable guy", and I agree with that, but he has had confrontation issues in the past. That said, it's not hard for me to see the parking attendant starting $#@!, people do that with 'celebs' all the time. Again, who knows who is really in the right here.

I hope it all shakes out fine, and personally I think we still need his services as a clear 1.

 

Tt is a question of fact whether he spit on the guy's face which no one has personal knowledge of. But the closest thing or account we have would be Stack because he owns a bar right next to the place of the incident and I gather he was also told that rafer indeed spat on the attendant's face. But maybe your sources are more credible, so who's to say.

To end, maybe the attendant should have just called the karma police. how bout some radiohead:
Karma Police

Karma police
arrest this man,
he talks in maths,
he buzzes like a fridge,
he's like a detuned radio.


This is what you get,
this is what you get,
this is what you get,
when you mess with us.