Jury also rejects gun charges
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Baltimore Ravens cornerback Corey Fuller was acquitted Saturday of all three gambling and gun charges after being accused of running high-stakes card games at his house.
The six-member jury deliberated a few hours before rejecting two days of prosecution testimony on charges carrying a possible five-year prison sentence.
The prosecution failed to prove Fuller either kept a gambling house, a felony, or gambled illegally, a misdemeanor. The verdict on the felony count automatically cleared him of a related weapons charge.
"Everything he tells you has an independent, innocent, non-criminal explanation," defense attorney Gary Roberts said in closing arguments.
But prosecutor Matt Smith told jurors that Fuller presided over the card games like "a pit boss," armed and demanding the house cut, which was put in a shoe box on the game-room floor.
"It's not a game room," Smith said. "It's Casino Fuller, that's what it was."
Fuller acknowledged he was carrying a holstered gun when his house was raided last April 20. He acquired a concealed weapon permit after a shootout at his house earlier in the year.
Fuller, a 10-year NFL veteran, had 13 tackles and no sacks in 14 games this season.
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