Yo! Ratchet of NFL safety's bro be centerpiecin' the armpit's Urban Dictionary jaunt

03/22/2014

Translation: Brother of Denver Broncos star Adams on trial for gun possession charges 

DON SMITH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Richard Adams, left , brother of Denver Bronco's safety Mike Adams on trial for illegal gun possession. Pictured with his lawyer Kenyatta Stewart.

Urban Dictionary, the web-based dictionary of slang where you can look up definitions of words like “jeenyus” and “postboned,” briefly took center-stage in a Paterson courtroom on Friday, in a trial in which a key piece of evidence came in the form of a slang-ridden sentence.

The case involves 23-year-old Richard Adams – the brother of Denver Broncos safety Mike Adams – who is on trial on a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon. Mike Adams briefly attended the trial Friday afternoon.

Richard Adams was arrested in March 2012 on an undisclosed charge that his attorneys say was later dismissed. But while he was in a holding cell at the Paterson Police Department, city detectives say they heard Adams uttering a statement that led them to a handgun that he owned.

Det. Aramis Alba testified Friday that he overheard Adams saying to another inmate, “Yo, when I saw the squally, I was shook. I left the ratchet in the back porch and drugs.”

In street lingo, “squally” means police and “ratchet” means gun, Alba said.

Paterson police said that based on the statement, they went to Adams’ home on Rosa Parks Boulevard and found a .45-caliber handgun on the back porch.

Adams’ attorneys, Kenyatta Stewart and Emile Lisboa, insist that Adams never uttered such a statement. Besides, it’s not even clear what the statement means, they said.

Stewart asked Alba during cross-examination how he knew that “squally” means police and “ratchet” means gun.
Alba replied that he looked it up on Urban Dictionary.

Stewart then asked Alba if he had noticed that Urban Dictionary offers other meanings for the same terms.

“Squally” also means “a woman who messes around a lot,” Stewart said, and “ratchet” is also defined on Urban Dictionary as “a nasty person.”

Alba said he is not aware of those definitions.

The trial is scheduled to continue next week before Superior Court Judge Marylin Clark. Adams faces five to 10 years in prison if he is convicted of the charge.


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