There are myriad stories about the depths of L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling's depravity. The discriminatory housing lawsuits. The sexual harassment. The widely known scumminess about anything and everything. A story that often goes unmentioned in meditations on sports' most despicable owner is the one about the time he apparently got his son Scott off the hook for a shooting.
Scott died on Tuesday. Early reports suggest a drug overdose. Based on what Beverly Hills police told the D.A. and reports back in 2000, Scott probably should have been in jail.
The sordid story is unleashed in a 2000 Los Angeles Times Magazine piece by Fred Dickey. The short version: Scott Sterling shot a fellow 19-year-old at Sterling's house. It was a fight over a girl. (This girl.) Scott claimed self defense. Beverly Hills detectives investigated the case and didn't buy it. Within two weeks, they asked the D.A. to bring charges against Sterling and also suggested prosecutors look into police intimidation charges against Donald Sterling. A year later, the D.A. decided not to file any charges whatsoever on the case.
Sterling was a major fundraiser for the outgoing D.A., Gil Garcetti. Detectives told Dickey that they were mystified that the push for charges against Sterling died in D.A.'s office, and that Scott Sterling suffered no punishment for the shooting. Maybe they shouldn't have been.