Rodman cited after crash

Jen Lawson

Monday, Oct. 20, 2003 | 11:11 a.m.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was cited Sunday morning on suspicion of drunken driving after he crashed a borrowed motorcycle outside a strip club, Metro Police said.

Rodman, 42, had been at the newly opened Treasures at 2801 Westwood Drive, near Rancho Drive and Sahara Avenue, for a couple of hours when he asked an employee if he could take a ride on his motorcycle shortly before 9 a.m., police said.

"He was popping wheelies, or attempting to pop wheelies," Officer Jose Montoya, spokesman for Metro Police, said. "He wasn't wearing a helmet."

Rodman lost control and was thrown from the motorcycle. The bike continued about 30 feet and hit the concrete base of a light pole in the parking lot, general manager Nick Foskaris said.

"It shattered the bike," he said.

Paramedics took the 6-foot-8 Rodman to University Medical Center to be treated for cuts on both legs, Montoya said. A hospital spokeswoman said Rodman was released shortly after arriving.

While he was at UMC, Rodman was issued a citation for driving under the influence, a misdemeanor, and he will have to appear in court or enter a plea within four to six weeks, Montoya said.

Rodman, a regular visitor to Las Vegas, has partied at Treasures "quite a few times" since the club opened last month, Foskaris said.

"He enjoys the club," he said. "He's a big tipper and he likes to have fun. He'll throw thousands of $1 bills around."

The motorcycle was brand new, he said. The employee purchased it after his previous motorcycle was stolen.

Foskaris said he has no doubt Rodman will compensate the employee for wrecking his bike.

"I've known Dennis for probably seven years, and no matter what they say about him, he's always a gentleman and he's always very generous."

Rodman's past misadventures in Las Vegas are notorious. He married former "Baywatch" star Carmen Electra at the Little Chapel of the Flowers in November 1998, but soon after claimed he was intoxicated. The marriage ended six months later.

In May 2002, Rodman paid an undisclosed settlement to an MGM Mirage dealer after the flamboyant Rodman had rubbed dice on the dealer's head, chest and genitals in 1997. A civil jury ruled in the dealer's favor, and Rodman appealed the case to the Nevada Supreme Court. He later dropped the suit and paid the settlement.

In another lawsuit, four women claimed in 1998 that Rodman had pinched or grabbed them at the Hilton. One of the plaintiffs, a 62-year-old cocktail waitress, died of a heart attack last year at her Henderson home.

Last month, Rodman was charged with public drunkenness in Newport Beach, Calif., where police said they've answered numerous complaints about noise at his home.

In August, an Orange County, Calif., civil jury rejected a 39-year-old woman's claim that Rodman imprisoned and sexually assaulted her at his home.

Rodman gained fame as a rebounder for the NBA's Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. He last played professionally in 1999-2000 with the Dallas Mavericks, but his eccentric behavior eventually ended his association with the team; he was released from his contract after 13 games.