Probe into Colts' Marvin Harrison ends

District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham announced yesterday that, because of uncooperative witnesses, she has ended a criminal probe of the shooting of a convicted felon by a gun owned by Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison.

The reason, she said, was largely a lack of cooperation from Harrison and four others to resolve what she called their "multiple, mutually exclusive and inherently untrustworthy and false statements" in the April 29 incident.

"We're not foolish," Abraham said. "But knowing what happened and proving what happened are two different things."

"How do I prove my case?" Abraham added. "With these witnesses? I don't think so."

Harrison, 36, a football star at Roman Catholic High School and a record-setting wide receiver with the Colts, has denied being involved in the shooting outside his Chuckie's Garage at 25th and Thompson Streets. In the incident, Dwight Dixon was wounded in the hand.

Harrison also has denied that the gun he has a permit to carry - an unusual Belgian-made 5.7mm pistol - was used or even fired since he bought it about two years ago, Abraham said.

"We're confident of our police ballistics report," Abraham said, referring to tests she said proved at least five shots fired on April 29 came from Harrison's gun.

Neither Harrison nor his Philadelphia attorney, Daniel J. Hart, could be reached yesterday for comment.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league would not comment.

The Colts' president, Bill Polian, issued a statement that he was pleased with Abraham's decision: "We . . . defer to her ability to weigh the actual evidence. It would not be appropriate for us to have further comment at this time."

Abraham denied published reports that she delayed her announcement until after Saturday's game, in which the Colts were eliminated from the playoffs.

Abraham said the announcement was originally planned for around Christmas but scheduling conflicts forced postponement.

"To believe [I delayed the announcement] means I would have to know the outcome of the game before it happened," Abraham said. "I'm good, but I'm not that good."

Abraham said the only thing her investigators can do now is await the sworn depositions of Harrison, Dixon and others in a lawsuit filed by Dixon against Harrison seeking damages of $100,000.

Robert M. Gamburg, who filed the civil suit for Dixon in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, could not be reached for comment.

Police have called the shooting the culmination of a feud that began two weeks earlier when Harrison refused to admit Dixon, 32, to his bar, Playmakers, at 28th and Cambridge Streets.

Abraham provided new details of the shooting uncovered in the probe, which was led by Assistant District Attorney Christopher Diviny, chief of the major trials unit.

Abraham said Dixon tried to enter the bar with another man who was armed. Harrison told them he did not allow firearms in his bar and Dixon became angry "because he felt he was being disrespected," threatened Harrison and left, Abraham said.

On April 29, Abraham said, Dixon showed up across the street from Chuckie's Garage and started a fistfight with Harrison and Stanley McCray, who worked at Harrison's garage.

Bystanders broke up the fight before anyone was hurt, and Harrison and McCray returned to the garage.

But Dixon pressed on. Abraham said Dixon got into his Toyota truck, backed up to the garage entrance and threatened to kill Harrison and McCray.

At about 4:50 p.m., Abraham said, as Dixon drove away on Thompson toward 25th, a series of gunshots echoed around the intersection.

Five people were questioned by investigators, Abraham said, and she reviewed problems with their accounts:

Harrison. He denied having a gun that day and said he heard shots but did not see who was shooting.

He said his pistol was at his suburban home at the time, and he later surrendered it to police fully loaded. Police ballistics experts determined that five of six fired cartridge casings found at 25th and Thompson came from Harrison's gun. The remains of a sixth were "insufficient for comparison."

Dixon. Dixon has maintained that Harrison shot him. He is the only one charged - for giving false information to police. Abraham said he gave two identities and two stories about how he was shot: first by two armed robbers in West Philadelphia and then by two hooded strangers near Chuckie's.

Police found his truck, the rear window shot out and two spent 9mm casings inside. Neither casing was fired by Harrison's gun, Abraham said, and no gun has been linked to Dixon.

Malcolm Poindexter. Poindexter was several feet from the shoot-out and told police his 2-year-old son Nasir was injured by flying glass.

Abraham said Poindexter says he did not see who fired the shots and has since refused to speak with police.

Robert Nixon. Three days after the shooting, Nixon, whom Abraham said was an associate of Dixon's, contacted police saying he was shot in the shoulder on April 29 at 25th and Thompson.

Nixon first told police he saw nothing and then described the fight involving Dixon, Harrison and McCray. Later, Nixon recanted and said he never saw anyone shoot on April 29.

The bullet remains lodged in Nixon's shoulder and so cannot be tested by ballisticians, Abraham said.

McCray. Abraham said McCray blamed Dixon for escalating the feud with Harrison. He said he saw Dixon with a gun on April 29 - but did not see Dixon shoot.

Abraham said McCray insisted he did not see who fired a gun, refused to sign a statement or identify the man he said was Dixon.

Abraham said no one other than Dixon has been charged with lying to police because only he first gave a false name and then several false accounts of the shooting.

Abraham said she is willing to reopen the probe if new evidence develops, but she is not optimistic.

"At this point, we have nobody," Abraham said. "We don't have anybody who will say they saw anybody fire a gun at anyone."