Alleged shooter says Pacman framing him

5/1/2008 7:10 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A man charged with shooting three people outside a Las Vegas strip club has denied he was involved and accused Adam ``Pacman'' Jones of ordering the shooting and framing him to avoid identifying the real shooter.

Arvin Kenti Edwards of Renton, Wash., is being held in a Washington state jail on $1 million bail pending extradition to Nevada. He talked with WTVF-TV in Nashville by phone for a report that aired Wednesday.

Edwards told the TV station in a telephone interview that Jones lied to police about the Feb. 19, 2007, shooting at the Minxx club that left an employee paralyzed and two other people wounded. Edwards said Jones paid someone for the shooting, but that it wasn't him.

``I want to let them know I'm not the person who done this. I've been shot before. I know how it feels,'' Edwards said.

He accused Jones of lying to help his plea deal as the suspended cornerback tries to return to the NFL. Jones was traded by the Tennessee Titans to the Dallas Cowboys last weekend, with Jones receiving a new contract.

Jones' agent and attorney, Worrick Robinson, said Edwards has reason to lie as the man facing three counts of attempted murder.

Robert Langford, Adam ``Pacman'' Jones' lawyer in Las Vegas, was out of the state Thursday and unavailable for comment, an aide at his office said.

Police say Edwards opened fire outside the strip club after Jones was involved in a brawl inside, and later demanded $15,000 from Jones for ``services rendered.''

Jones told authorities he didn't order the shooting and declined to pay. But he said he reimbursed a friend after the friend paid the money on Jones' behalf. Jones also told police he saw the person who fired the shots at the club and identified Edwards, who has an amputated arm, in a police lineup April 18.

A warrant filed in the case said Edwards' phone records were checked and that he had contacted Jones in Atlanta and Tennessee.

Jones pleaded no contest Dec. 6 in Las Vegas to conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct in a plea deal that reduced two felony charges of coercion, each carrying a possible sentence of one to six years in prison.

In return, he agreed to tell police what he knew about the gunman. Jones has never acknowledged any role in the shooting.