Prosecutors let Rodman off the hook

SUE DOYLE

NEWPORT BEACH -- After reviewing three dozen complaints of loud

parties and disturbances at Dennis Rodman’s oceanfront home, prosecutors

Wednesday declined to press criminal charges against the former

professional basketball star.

Newport Beach police logged more than 40 calls to Rodman’s home

between July 5, 1999 and June 17, 2000. The ex-Los Angeles Laker has paid

$3,000 in fines, but the penalties don’t seem to keep things quiet.

Police submitted their files to the district attorney’s office earlier

this year because they couldn’t find any other way to curb Rodman’s

late-night affairs.

Rodman, 39, holds the city’s all-time record for the highest number of

disturbance calls to his home, police said, adding that the department

has 117 pages of dispatch notes for phone calls complaining about the

noise at his address.

The district attorney’s office said there is not enough evidence

against Rodman, but will consider reopening the case if there are more

problems with boisterous bashes at his home.

Rodman’s attorney, Paul S. Meyer, was out of town and could not be

reached for comment.

Although the police turned over reports, taped 911 calls and videotape

footage from patrol cars, officials said there is not enough

documentation to prove that Rodman was present at 15 of the incidents.

The other 16 calls were not related to loud noise.

In addition, many complaints were left anonymously or by people who

refused to cooperate.

Rodman’s celebrity status was not a factor in the decision not to file

charges, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn Carlisle-Raines.

“There was no different treatment of Dennis Rodman than anyone else

would have received. We did a thorough review of the evidence based on

the legal standard, not the status of the person who allegedly violated

the law,” she said.

But there are some who are intimidated by the flamboyant forward, who

won NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls.

Some neighbors complain about noise from Rodman’s parties, but do not

want to face him in court.

“We need the help from the community to step up and testify if they

want this to stop,” said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Mike McDermott.

For Rodman, the district attorney’s decision leaves him with only one

court case. In April, he pleaded not guilty to charges that he was

driving under the influence of alcohol in December as he left the

Clubhouse Restaurant in South Coast Plaza. Tests revealed Rodman’s

blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

He was also arrested in August 1999 at Woody’s Wharf on public

drunkenness charges. The charges were later dropped. Three months later,

he and his wife, actress Carmen Electra, were arrested in Miami Beach for

a domestic dispute. Those charges were also dismissed.