Riot charges against
UH player’s dad
dropped

Question: What ever happened to James Voss, the stepfather of a University of Hawaii football player, who was facing charges that he fought with a police officer and incited a riot at a UH football game in 2003?

Answer: It took a year but Voss finally got the call.

Two weeks ago, a Las Vegas prosecutor phoned to tell Voss the felony charges against him were being dropped.

The word was a relief after a year of worry.

"Every day for one year it was on my mind," Voss said. "It's like, finally."

Voss is UH slotback Chad Owens' stepfather.

He was arrested Sept. 19, 2003, at a UH-UNLV game at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, following a confrontation with police. The game was marred by dozens of fights between Hawaii and Las Vegas supporters.

Voss was charged with battery on a police officer and inciting a riot. He was originally set to appear in court Monday to face the felony counts.

Instead, he appeared in a Las Vegas District courtroom Thursday morning to face a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.

Voss has maintained that the felony charges were ungrounded and that he was unfairly treated by Las Vegas police.

In September 2003, Voss told the Star-Bulletin that the ordeal started when a UNLV fan taunted him throughout the game and continually challenged him to a fight. During the third quarter, Voss approached the man but was called back by his wife.

Voss said a minute later, a police officer came up to him and said, "You want a piece of me?" and attacked him. Charmaine, Voss's wife, alleges that several other police officers then surrounded her husband and hit and choked him.

Voss has a lawsuit pending against the Las Vegas police, alleging brutality. He said he is pursuing the suit.

"The police are going to have to answer to that on their own," Voss said.

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