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Morning News

NFL Star Ray Lewis to Plead Guilty to Obstruction of Justice

Aired June 5, 2000 - 9:01 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this morning with a plea agreement in the high-profile murder trial of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. Prosecutors are dropping murder charges against the NFL star.

Joining us now with more details of how this deal was struck by the attorneys for Lewis is CNN/Sports Illustrated's Laura Okmin.

Laura, what's the deal and where does it go from here?

LAURA OKMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're going to talk about that. Some surprising news this morning for many, Daryn.

Don Samuel, one of Ray Lewis' attorneys, says a deal has been struck, which means prosecutors are ready to drop the murder charges against the NFL star. In return, Lewis will plead guilty to one count, a misdemeanor, obstruction of justice, in exchange for his testimony about his two friends and co-defendants, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting. Lewis will receive a maximum of 12 months probation and will most likely not take the stand until sometime tomorrow.

This would end the two-week trial, which has been really seen as a headache for the prosecution. At the beginning of the trial, district attorney Paul Howard promised jurors he would bring several witnesses to the stand who would describe what happened, including Lewis' direct involvement. However, as he moved through the case, witness after witness basically hedged.

So kind of a win-win for Lewis, who gets his freedom, and the prosecutors, who will finally get a star witness who will stick to his story, or at least, Daryn, they hope will stick to his story this time.

KAGAN: And what about the sports story here? Lewis being such a key player, defensive player, for the Baltimore Ravens, what would this probation do to his playing status?

OKMIN: Boy, they sure hope they get him back, Daryn. We both know that. Lewis' NFL career is absolutely the heart of this case for Lewis. That could be a big part of why he made this plea-bargain. Of course, his freedom the most important thing. But NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue saying last month that if Lewis was to be acquitted, he would not take action. Ravens owner Art Modell and coach Brian Billick say they are both aware of the situation but will not comment until it comes to fruition.

But it appears the second active NFL player to be charged with murder apparently has saved his career. However, it is not clear whether pleading guilty to a misdemeanor would expose Lewis to disciplinary action by the NFL. But, Daryn, that's really putting the cart before the horse. Right now, he just, of course, wants to get his freedom. And, again, he should probably take the stand tomorrow.

KAGAN: Right. And, of course, this wouldn't be an acquittal but a misdemeanor. It's hard to see any really severe action being taken by the league.

Laura Okmin, thank you. We'll see you a little bit later with more sports news.

OKMIN: Thank you.

KAGAN: Thank you.

And you can get more details on the Ray Lewis trial and the plea agreement by logging on to the CNN/Sports Illustrated Web site. The address: cnnsi.com.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

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