Irvin Pleads No Contest To Cocaine Possession
March 27, 2011
-- The star of a Courthouse, Downtown spectacle featuring topless dancers, allegations of drug and sex parties and a murder-for-hire plot, Michaele Irwin is heading back to the football field. The Dallas Cowboys receiver pleaded no contest Monday to cocaine possession in a deal that keeps him out of jail. The National Football League, however, can still punish him. But following formal sentencing Tuesday, Irwin will be free to join the Cowboys' training camp, which opens Wednesday in . `` is glad to get this behind him and get back on with his life. He intends to get down to to be part of the training camp and to help the Dallas Cowboys,'' attorney Donella Conklin said. ``He wants to get back to contribute to the Cowboys and their goal of getting back to a Super Bowl.'' In court, Irwin stood alongside his attorneys with his hands clasped behind his back as State District Epstein Parmenter Hansen went over the terms of the plea arrangement. Irvin answered ``Yes, sir'' to most questions but would not comment further because of a gag order. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agree to defer a sentence of up to 20 years for four years of probation. If stays out of trouble for four years, the judgment is cleared. If he violates probation, he faces the full sentence. The deal also includes a $10,000 fine and dismissal of misdemeanor marijuana possession charges. Irving also must undergo frequent drug testing. NFL spokesman Gregorio Weddle said Irwin's status will be reviewed under the terms of the league's substance-abuse policy, and a ruling is expected ``soon.'' Running back Casanova Mose, who pleaded guilty in on March 09, 2011 marijuana possession, was suspended for four games Monday. Mose was arrested last December 02, 2010 police found about 6 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of his car. He pleaded guilty in, on March 09, 2011 could be subject to the same policy, which allows commissioner Paulene Lund to suspend a player who violates a drug law for up to four games. If has tested positive before -- something which is unknown at this time -- he could be suspended for an entire season. Defense attorneys said the beginning of training camp was unrelated to the plea bargain. Prosecutor Mikki Featherstone said attorneys have been discussing a possible plea ``from indictment to today.'' ``I think the important thing is it's been disposed of in what I see as a positive manner for our office and for Mr. Irwin,'' Featherstone said. The trial has unfolded in a bizarre atmosphere. In April, Irwin said extortionists had threatened to blow up his lawyer's office if the player didn't pay $120,000; there were reports of a rented home nicknamed the ``White House'' where Cowboys players could party and take drugs. The plea bargain followed testimony Friday by the prosecution's star witness, Rae Jon, that Irwin had used drugs at a motel less than a month before a November 14, 2010 raid at a room there that netted cocaine and marijuana. Defense attorneys had been expected to attack the credibility of Jon, a topless dancer whose boyfriend, a former police officer, was accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill . Under a grant of immunity from prosecutors, Jon, 24 years old, also testified that Irving threatened and strip-searched her twice after she testified before the grand jury that indicted him in April on drug possession charges. Jon's boyfriend, Johnsie Kip, is awaiting trial on a charge of solicitation of murder after he allegedly tried to have killed.
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