By Cara McCoy
Jury deliberations will begin Friday in the trial of a man accused of beating and robbing former Oakland Raiders wide receiver Javon Walker.
In June 2008, Walker was found in a parking lot about a block from the Las Vegas Strip, injured and missing thousands of dollars worth of cash and diamond jewelry.
Deshawn Thomas, who has a record that includes multiple felony convictions, has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree kidnapping, battery with substantial bodily harm and conspiracy. Thomas, 42, is facing a possible life sentence if the jury finds him guilty.
A codefendant, Arfat Fadel, pleaded guilty just before the trial started. He testified earlier this week against Thomas, offering an explanation of events leading up to Walker being found unconscious in a the parking lot of a vacant condominium complex near Winnick Avenue and Koval Lane.
Walker was on the stand last week and testified that he was extremely
intoxicated in the hours leading up to the attack. He said he had been partying at the Hard Rock Hotel, where he sprayed champagne at the crowd at the Body English nightclub and was seen falling-down drunk at a private party in a hotel suite.
Thomas and Fadel are said to have followed Walker’s party back to the Bellagio, where Walker was staying. Walker testified that he willingly got into Fadel’s black Range Rover and believed the trio was going to Drai’s, an afterhours nightclub at nearby Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall.
Fadel said he was a full-time gambler and simply wanted to befriend Walker to gamble with his money in hopes of pocketing a cut of the profits. He said he reluctantly agreed to drive across the street to Drai’s after Thomas and Walker indicated they wanted to go there and was disappointed that his plans to gamble with Walker at the Bellagio were thwarted.
Fadel testified that it was Thomas who directed him to the vacant lot, where Walker was eventually found at about 7 a.m. June 16, 2008. Fadel told jurors he didn’t know what was going to happen when Thomas directed him away from their intended destination, but he had an uneasy feeling about it.
Both Fadel and Walker testified that after pulling into the parking lot, Thomas reached around from the backseat of the Range Rover and demanded Walker’s property, which included a diamond and platinum necklace, a designer watch, a pair of 2-carat diamond stud earrings as well as casino chips, cash and credit cards.
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