Carruth's lawyers say money no motive in Adams shooting

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Rae Carruth's attorneys say the former NFL player wasn't strapped for money when his pregnant girlfriend was fatally wounded and that couldn't have been a motive for

Wednesday, February 9th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Rae Carruth's attorneys say the former NFL player wasn't strapped for money when his pregnant girlfriend was fatally wounded and that couldn't have been a motive for his possible involvement. The victim's mother, Saundra Adams, had said Carruth's interest in Cherica Adams' pregnancy had cooled after he was injured last fall and said Carruth appeared "pressured" about money.

However, documents filed Tuesday in Mecklenburg County Superior Court by attorneys for the former Carolina Panthers wide receiver showed Carruth had $175,000 in a checking account and a net worth of nearly $480,000 when Cherica Adams was shot. "Contrary to circulated incorrect reports that 1999 was a year of financial desperation for Mr. Carruth, the truth of the matter is that Mr. Carruth's financial status immediately prior to November 1999 was extremely healthy," said Kenneth Spaulding, one of Carruth's attorneys.

The financial information was filed in the child custody and support case brought against Carruth by Saundra Adams, who now has temporary custody of Adams' baby, Chancellor Adams. Carruth'sattorneys said the disclosures show there couldn't have been a financial motive for Adams' murder.

Carruth, 25, and three co-defendants are charged with first-degree murder and other charges in the drive-by shooting of Adams, 24. She was shot four times in her car while driving through south Charlotte. Soon after the shooting, she gave birth to Chancellor, 10 weeks premature, and then died Dec. 14. Prosecutorsare seeking the death penalty.

Saundra Adams is seeking child support from Carruth, and Mecklenburg District Judge Yvonne Mims Evans has issued a temporary restraining order freezing Carruth's assets. A hearing is scheduled Monday.

Carruth's lawyers filed the financial information in seeking to lift the freeze. Carruth says he needs the money to defend him selfin the criminal case. "Unless this court dissolves the temporary restraining order, Mr. Carruth will be denied counsel of his choice in a case where his very life is at stake," the motion says. "Denying Mr. Carruth access to the funds he has earned in order to hire a lawyer will inevitably result in shifting the burden of funding Mr. Carruth's defense to the state and ultimately to the taxpayers."

Carruth has offered to pay $3,000 a month to support Chancellor. He has paid the same amount to support a 5-year-old son, Rae, who lives with his mother in Sacramento, Calif. Carruth, drafted out of the University of Colorado in the first round in 1997, signed a four-year, $3.7 million contract and received a $1.3 million signing bonus. He was earning $38,382 a game until the Panthers waived him in December.