Taylor secures attorney

— Four days after a Mississippi woman accused him of rape, professional boxer Jermain Taylor hired legal counsel Tuesday in advance of a possible meeting with Maumelle police to discuss the accusations.

Taylor, 33, has hired Rogers attorney Kenny Shemin, who also represented the former two-time middleweight world champion from Little Rock five years ago in two civil suits that claimed the fighter had inappropriate physical contact with two women. Both of those suits were dismissed.

Shemin confirmed Tuesday that he is representing Taylor, who has not been charged and is in the midst of a boxing comeback after a 26-month layoff and has won his past two fights.

“We do not believe the allegations have any substance whatsoever,” Shemin said.

According to an incident report released Monday, the woman — who told police she visited the fighter weekly — said she met Taylor on Friday at a Maumelle motel and that he planned to pay her $2,000 to have sex.

The woman said in the report the two smoked marijuana in the room before getting into an argument, and that she fled the room after “becoming frightened” and fell down a flight of stairs and broke her left ankle. The woman called police from the lobby, and three officers responded to find her “intoxicated due to smoking marijuana,” the report said.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was charged with drug possession, a Class C felony, after pain killers were found in the room. She was then taken Baptist Health Medical Center for treatment, the report said.

Detectives had not spoken with Taylor as of Tuesday.

“I don’t know that there’s plans to at this point,” Maumelle police spokesman Lt. Jim Hansard said Tuesday. “There’s plans to attempt that.”

Hansard confirmed Tuesday that detectives had a follow-up interview with the woman regarding details of her report, but he did not disclose specifics such as when the reported sexual assault took place or other details that weren’t disclosed Friday to police.

The woman was scheduled to appear for a hearing Tuesday in Maumelle District Court, but her attorney — whose identity wasn’t available — notified court officials by phone of the woman’s intent to plead not guilty to the drug charges.

Under Arkansas sentencing guidelines, a defendant found guilty of a Class C felony faces between three years and 10 years in prison with up to a $10,000 fine.

Sports, Pages 25 on 05/23/2012

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