Attorney: Somebody Tried To Pay 'Witnesses' To Implicate Morris Twins In Assault Case

You may recall that twins Marcus and Markieff Morris were in 2015 charged in Phoenix with aggravated assault for their alleged role in the beating of Eric Hood outside a basketball game.

Well, the Morrii beat the rap on Tuesday, acquitted at least in part because, according to their attorney, someone tried to pay people to implicate the twins in court.

From ESPN:

"Defense attorney James Belanger told jurors the case was tainted by Hood’s mentor, who tried to solicit two witnesses to implicate the Morris brothers for a cash payment in return. “That is outrageous,” Belanger said. “And you should be outraged by that, and it affects every aspect of this case.”"

The twins faced two felony counts each of aggravated assault after Hood was beaten up by a group of men in January, 2015. Initial police reports, relayed by the Arizona Republic, concerning the event offered a window into the messy nature of the dispute.

"A Phoenix police report indicated that the Morris twins and three other men assaulted Erik Hood, 36, a man they denied knowing. Hood told police that he had known them since they were ninth-graders in Philadelphia and mentored them while they played at the University of Kansas. Hood told police that he and the twins had a “falling out” in 2010. He said, in 2010, one of the Jan. 24 suspects saw Hood’s text message to the Morris’ mother that he would always be there for her and took it out of context, telling the twins that Hood wanted Angel Morris to be his girlfriend."

So make what you will of that.