ADAMS STREET — At press time jurors were still deliberating the fate of Shamel Bey, a Moorish National representing himself in a weapons-possession trial that could land him in the slammer for several years.

Though Bey, 32, was initially hit with three counts of criminal possession of a weapon, Assistant District Attorney Vinoo Varghese Friday requested that Justice Abraham Gerges only charge jurors on one, third-degree count.

Varghese had initially requested Gerges ask jurors to vote on each count separately, because each has different implications. For instance, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon refers specifically to having a loaded, unlicensed gun with intent to use it, whereas third-degree CPW is charged when someone merely has a loaded, unlicensed gun outside the home.

Prosecutors have argued that Bey intended to shoot one of the arresting police officers.

Concerned that a conviction on all three counts would seem contradictory and lead to a dismissal on appeal, Gerges wanted jurors to vote only on as many counts as it took to get one guilty verdict, or complete acquittal. His decision prompted Varghese to request that only one charge be given.

In his closing arguments, Bey accused police of lying and trying to cover up details of his arrest. He was shot in the foot by police and believes proper procedures were not followed. Bey has filed a civil lawsuit against the city.

Bey was arrested in Brownsville in 2001, after running from police, allegedly pulling a handgun, and being shot in the foot by a detective.

He has since represented himself through three years of pretrial hearings, believing he would be recorded as a black man or an African-American if he had an attorney. He wants to be known on the record as a Moor, and was visibly frustrated when Gerges told him he would not be able to ask prospective jurors about their nationality.

Bey was free on his own recognizance from the time of the arrest until late last month, when he did not show up for afternoon jury selection after having been in court all morning, according to a law enforcement source. Police arrested him at his home, and Gerges denied him bail.

Bey is a member of the Moorish Nationals — a society established to provide African-Americans with the nationalist heritage stripped from their ancestors when they were transported here as slaves.

During the testimony of a police officer, Bey objected to his own questioning on at least two occasions.

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2004