NFL's "Pacman" Jones to pay $11.6 million for Las Vegas shooting
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Nevada jury has ruled that Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones must pay $11.6 million to three plaintiffs for his role in a 2007 shooting incident at a Las Vegas strip club.
The Clark County jury on Friday awarded Thomas Urbanski $9.6 million in compensatory damages for a gunshot injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down, according to online court records. Urbanski was the manager of the Minxx club.
Aaron Cudwort, a bouncer at the club, was awarded $1 million in compensatory damages and $600,000 in punitive damages for injury in the shooting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Urbanski's wife, Kathleen, was awarded $750,000 for loss of consortium.
The awards stem from an altercation in February 2007 when Jones, who was with the NFL's Tennessee Titans at the time, was in Las Vegas during the National Basketball Association's All-Star weekend.
According to police reports, the incident occurred after Jones "made it rain" by throwing money into the air. Minutes later, a brawl ensued outside the club and Arvin Kenti Edwards, an associate of Jones, began shooting into a group of people.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Edwards entered an Alford plea to the charge of attempted murder and was sentenced to two to five years in prison. In an Alford plea, the defendant does not admit to the charge, but admits it likely could be proven.
Jones was suspended from playing in the NFL by Commissioner Roger Goodell in 2007 and in 2008 for violations of the league's personal conduct policy.
Jones was arrested in July 2011 after being kicked out of a Cincinnati bar. He was charged with disorderly conduct while intoxicated and resisting arrest for pulling away from police officers as they tried to handcuff him.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He was sentenced to one year of probation and 50 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $250 fine plus court costs, according to court records.
Cudwort's attorney Richard Shonfeld said in a telephone interview on Saturday that he was glad that the jury held Jones accountable.
He said he expected the NFL player to be able to pay the settlement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"After all of this time, Aaron has some finality to what happened to him," Shonfeld said.
The Bengals signed Jones for the 2012 season after he played only eight games last season because of injuries.
The NFL has asked Jones to be part of a panel discussion at the rookie symposium in Ohio this month to talk about his off-the-field mistakes at a football player.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Jackie Frank)