http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_403996
9,00.html
Memphis police detectives Monday were investigating re****ts that Memphis
Grizzlies center/forward Lorenzen Wright confronted his wife and her
friends
at gunpoint during a domestic disturbance Friday night.
Wright has not been charged with any crime. In an interview Monday, he
denied he had a gun when he went to 1978 Alcy in search of his wife.
He blamed his trouble on "jealousy and envy" on the part of police
officers.
"There is a stereotype for people like me ... another NBA player who is a
hothead," Wright said.
But an interdepartmental memo shows police officials took steps to keep
the
incident from the news media and the public. The re****t was not posted on
the department's incident database as usual and late Monday still had not
been made public.
But a copy of the re****t obtained by The Commercial Appeal shows police
were
called about 11:30 p.m. Friday to the home of Cheryle Irby, who told them
Wright came to her home with a gun looking for his wife.
Irby told police Wright had kicked in the door where her 3-year-old
grandson
was sleeping and pointed the gun at the head of a male friend, asking who
he
was.
Irby told police Wright pulled his wife into a bedroom, and she heard what
sounded like fighting.
Police re****ts show that Sherra Wright had a serious cut on her hand and
abrasions across her jaw. Wright denied harming his wife.
Irby told police she did not want to press charges against Wright, and
advised other witnesses not to file charges.
Irby refused to comment on the incident when contacted by The Commercial
Appeal.
Monday Wright admitted to yelling and cursing, but denied bringing a gun
into the home or hurting his wife.
"It was not the way police are trying to make it happen," he said. "... My
wife and I have a good relation****p. I never touched my wife."
Wright explained the blood on his wife's hand and clothing by saying she
recently had surgery.
Department spokesman Sgt. Vince Higgins said the incident re****t was not
posted on the police database because of a legal opinion from the City
Attorney's Office on Aug. 15 that re****ts of domestic violence complaints
will no longer be made public.
But in an interdepartmental memo obtained by The Commercial Appeal, the
supervising lieutenant tells his superiors the incident was put in a memo
instead of a public incident re****t to keep the media from getting the
information.
Higgins said the case remains under investigation and Wright could face
aggravated assault and domestic assault charges.
Dep. Dist. Atty. Gen. James Challen said Monday afternoon he had not been
made aware of the allegations.
He said the final decision on whether to prosecute lies with his office.
It
is difficult, but not impossible, to prosecute a domestic violence case
without the victims' cooperation.
The timing of this incident doesn't bode well for Wright, who has been hit
hard in the court of public opinion since his request for a trade from the
Grizzlies on June 22.
Wright wanted the change because the team would not enter negotiations for
a
contract extension.
Wright is about to enter the final year of a contract that pays him $7.7
million for the 2005-06 season. He's played for the Griz since they came
to
Memphis in 2001.
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