Rodman Won’t Be Prosecuted in Scuffle
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SANTA ANA — NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman will not be prosecuted for public drunkenness, but a man who police said hampered their probe of Rodman’s confrontation last month with fans at a Newport Beach restaurant will be charged with obstructing an officer and marijuana possession, authorities said Wednesday.
Prosecutors could not prove that Rodman was legally drunk when he was arrested Aug. 21 at Woody’s Wharf, said Tori Richards, spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney. Rodman was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public after he struck another patron during a scuffle, police said.
“We don’t have enough evidence to prove Rodman was so drunk that he couldn’t care for himself,” Richards said.
Not as fortunate is Donn Emerson, 36, of San Diego. Richards said Emerson kept interfering with police as they tried to interview witnesses to Rodman’s run-in with a female patron and her male companion.
Emerson was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a police officer. When he was taken into custody, officers found 11.5 grams of marijuana on him, and he was also charged with marijuana possession. Both counts are misdemeanors.
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