MILLSTONE: Basketball player fined for court no-show

by Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
   MILLSTONE — NBA player and local resident J.R. Smith has been ordered to pay a $1,000 fine after failing to appear in Municipal Court here last month on motor vehicle summonses stemming from a fatal accident in June 2007, court officials there confirmed.
   In a court conference Feb. 17, Judge Debra Gelson ordered Mr. Smith, 23, to pay the sanction for his absence from court Jan. 13, officials said.
   Mr. Smith — born Earl J. Smith — was expected appear in court that day, but instead played with the Nuggets in a home win versus the Dallas Mavericks. He went 1-for-14, scoring only two points.
   Mr. Smith is expected to appear for another pretrial hearing March 17.
   In October, a Monmouth County grand jury declined to indict the basketball player for his involvement in a traffic accident that killed his friend, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Peter Warshaw Jr.
   In addition to the contempt-of-court charge, Mr. Smith faces five traffic violations: improper passing, failure to stop, speeding, reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.
   Police said Mr. Smith was driving a sport utility vehicle on Stagecoach Road when he pulled around a car stopped at a stop sign and hit an oncoming car in the opposite lane. Both Mr. Smith and Andre Bell, 21, of East Orange were ejected from the vehicle, but only Mr. Bell was seriously injured and he died two days later.