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April 24, 2007

Charges dropped against Celtics Allen

Charges of aggravated battery against Boston Celtics guard Tony Allen were dismissed Tuesday in a Chicago court.

The development came on the second day of a trial stemming from a fight in August 2005 outside a restaurant near downtown Chicago.

“He was pretty happy about the outcome,” Michael Higgins, Allen's agent, said. “I think this has been dragged out for too long. It's been a long time coming.”

Allen, who has spent the last three seasons with the Celtics, is recovering from two torn ligaments in his left knee suffered when he landed awkwardly after an uncontested dunk in the final minutes of a 97-84 loss to Indiana on Jan. 10.

The dismissal “is probably for him a big weight off his shoulders,” Higgins said. “Now he gets to focus on his rehab and be back by November” when the regular season starts.

Judge James Linn dismissed the charges resulting from the fight in which one man was shot and another had his right eye socket fractured. The incident was recorded on a security camera at the restaurant, the White Palace Grill. Allen was accused of breaking the man's left eye socket. Police said he was not a suspect in the shooting of a man in the left arm and left side.

Two men, Nigel Odum and Marktwain Johnson, said the fight began when Allen punched Odum. They have brought a civil suit against Allen which Higgins expects will be dismissed.

“After how quickly the judge ruled on this, that (suit) isn't going to go very far,” Higgins said. “He's been the focus, I think, over the past couple of years of a couple of guys looking for him to take the fall.”

Allen, the 25th pick in the 2004 draft out of Oklahoma State, grew up in Chicago. He was having his best season when he was hurt and finished with a scoring average of 11.5 points in 33 games.

--AP

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 7:58 PM to Celtics | Permalink

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