Defendant says police pressured girlfriend

A man accused of robbing and beating Oakland Raiders receiver Javon Walker alleged in court Wednesday that police pressured his girlfriend to press charges against him in a domestic violence case before he was arrested in the Walker case.

"My fiance, she was forced by the police, because of the other matter, to go forward with these accusations," Arfat Fadel said as he appeared by videoconference before a Las Vegas justice of the peace.

The judge, Eugene Martin, advised him to consult with his newly appointed public defense lawyer, Jeremy Storms, who told Fadel not to discuss the case in open court.

The judge also refused Fadel's request to reduce his $13,000 bail in the domestic violence case and set a preliminary hearing for July 9 on felony kidnapping, coercion and misdemeanor domestic violence battery charges. Fadel remained jailed at the Clark County Detention Center.

Las Vegas police spokesman, Officer Ramon Denby, declined comment on Fadel's accusation because he said investigations were continuing in both cases.

Denby said Fadel had not cooperated with investigators trying to identify a second man suspected of beating Walker.

Fadel faces multiple felonies, including kidnapping, robbery, battery and conspiracy in the June 16 robbery and beating that left the 29-year-old Walker unconscious on a side street off the Strip. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance on those charges today in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Walker, who was hospitalized for what police said were facial injuries and a concussion, told police he lost about $3,000 in cash and $100,000 worth of jewelry in the robbery. The money and jewelry had not been recovered, police said.

Lt. Clinton Nichols said Walker spent several hours club-hopping late June 15 and early June 16 before "willingly" getting into Fadel's black Range Rover with Fadel and the other alleged assailant.

"The suspects knew who Mr. Walker was. He did not know who they were," Nichols said Tuesday, and added that Walker "probably had a little too much to drink."

Denby said investigators were tracing Fadel's history in previous places where he lived, including Buffalo, N.Y.

Fadel pleaded guilty April 14 in Las Vegas to malicious destruction of property, a gross misdemeanor, stemming from allegations he threw a rock through the windshield of a woman's rental car in April 2007, court records show. He was given a suspended six-month jail sentence after promising to pay $579.44 in restitution, move to New York and provide proof of employment there.

Fadel's lawyer in that case, Osvaldo Fumo, recalled representing Fadel on a number of misdemeanor trespassing cases, and said Fadel told the judge he wanted to move to Buffalo to take care of his daughter. Fumo said he was no longer represented Fadel.

Police have released a grainy black-and-white surveillance videotape image of the other suspect who they believe is still in Las Vegas.

Walker, a first-round draft pick in 2001 by the Green Bay Packers, was traded to the Denver Broncos in 2006 and released last February before he was signed by the Oakland Raiders to a six-year, $55 million deal.

The team has declined comment, and Walker's agent, Kennard McGuire of Richmond, Texas, has not responded to messages.