Ex-convict convicted in Jordan's murder trial
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LUMBERTON, N.C. (AP) -- An ex-convict was convicted Thursday of murdering
basketball star Michael Jordan's father, who was shot during a holdup as
he awoke from a nap along a dark highway in his $40,000 luxury car.
Daniel Green, 21, could get the death penalty for shooting 57-year-old
James R. Jordan in the chest in 1993.
According to testimony, Green and his accomplice, Larry Martin Demery,
20, drove around in Jordan's red Lexus for four days after the slaying,
picking up dates, and used the dead man's cellular phone to call friends
and relatives.
Green also made a video of himself dancing and rapping while wearing
Jordan's jewelry -- a watch and two NBA rings given to him by his athlete
son.
Demery himself was the prosecution's star witness. He pleaded guilty to
murder before testifying against Green and also could get the death
penalty.
Defense witnesses had said Green was watching television at the time of
Jordan's slaying. The defendant, who changed his name to Lord D.A.A.S.
U'Allah but was called Green in court, did not testify.
Asked why he thought the jury convicted him, Green told reporters, "Your
guess is as good as mine." As he was led out of the courthouse in
shackles, he said, "This is Robeson County. What do you expect in this
county?"
Michael Jordan never appeared at the trial. A brother took the stand only
long enough to identify some of their father's belongings.
The jury deliberated 4 1/2 hours over two days before returning guilty
verdicts on all charges, including robbery and conspiracy. The jury is
expected to return Friday to consider whether Green should get life in
prison or the death penalty.
Defense attorney Woodberry Bowen said Green is disappointed and shocked,
but he's a man.
There was no immediate comment from Michael Jordan. At a Chicago Bulls
practice just before the verdict came in, he said, "It's not going to be
hard on me. It's going to be hard on my family."
James Jordan, who lived in the Charlotte area, had been driving home from
Wilmington and had pulled over in his car -- a gift from his athlete son
-- to take a nap in the middle of the night.
Demery said he and Green -- who had just gotten out of prison after
serving 2 1/2 years for assault -- happened to be nearby, preparing to rob
a motel, when the expensive car caught their eye and they changed their
target.
They sneaked up to the car as Jordan was waking up.
"He made a statement like, 'What is this?' or 'What's going on?' As soon
as these words were out of his mouth, Daniel cut him off. By that I mean
he shot him. Daniel just shot him," Demery told the jury. "We both stood
there and watched the man die."
Demery said they had no idea who the driver was until they rifled through
his possessions an hour or so later. "I believe we've killed Michael
Jordan's daddy," Demery quoted Green as saying.
Demery said they dumped the body in a swamp near Bennettsville, S.C.,
where it was found Aug. 5, the same day Jordan's car was discovered
stripped near Fayetteville.
Demery testified that Green pulled off the dead man's shoes and took two
suits from the car, and even wore the victim's pants to court during the
trial.
Prosecutors produced phone records for the cellular calls -- the first
was to a sex line -- and showed the jury Green's rap video.
The heart of Green's defense was the testimony of four witnesses who said
he was watching television at a Lumberton home the hour Jordan was
killed.
District Attorney Johnson Britt, however, pointed out that all four were
friends of Green's family, that they came forward only after the trial
began, and that Green himself never suggested such an alibi to
investigators.
The defense suggested that Demery -- because he could get the death
penalty -- was lying in saying Green was the triggerman.
When Michael Jordan quit basketball in 1993, he said he had all but made
up his mind to leave the game even before his father was slain. But he
said the murder "made me realize ... how short life is." He played
minor-league baseball for little more than a year, returning to basketball
in 1995.
This article was published on Friday, March 1,
1996
Copyright 1996, Student Publications Inc. All rights
reserved.
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