
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 21, 1995                   TAG: 9506210116
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

IVERSON'S CONVICTION REVERSED

The Virginia Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed the conviction of Georgetown University basketball player Allen Iverson on three felony counts in connection with a 1993 brawl.

The appeals court set aside Iverson's convictions on three counts of maiming by mob stemming from a melee that involved about 40 people at a Hampton bowling alley. Several people were injured.

``We are thrilled to death,'' said Iverson's attorney, Lisa O'Donnell. ``We were confident that these convictions would be overturned.''

O'Donnell said Tuesday afternoon she was trying to reach Iverson, who will be a sophomore in the fall at Georgetown, to tell him the news.

Prosecutors said during Iverson's August 1993 trial that his friends initiated a chair-throwing fight. He and two teen-age companions, Samuel Wynn and Michael Simmons, were found guilty by Hampton Circuit Judge Nelson T. Overton in connection with the Valentine's Day 1993 fight. The appeals court Tuesday also overturned verdicts against Wynn and Simmons.

In its ruling, the three-judge appeals court panel agreed with Iverson's attorneys, who argued in March there was no evidence Iverson joined in any mob that might have formed during the altercation.

by CNB