“He was disrespectful to one of our officers,” Wickman said. “It was a demeanor issue.”
Although Wickman characterized the incident as “minor,” he personally spoke with coaches about Wilson's behavior in order to “resolve future problems” that might arise - a standard practice, he said, in dealing with UM athletes who might have trouble acclimating to Missoula.
To that end, the Missoula Police Department has a liaison officer who meets regularly with UM athletes and department officials for a wide variety of reasons, and not necessarily to address instances of misbehavior, Wickman said.
“We interact with them as members of the community,” he said. “We have the same kind of relationship with our athletes as we do with other groups in town.”
Wickman said he did not recall any other specific instances where concerns about Wilson were relayed to UM officials, but could not be certain.
James “Jimmy” Leon Wilson, 20, of Los Angeles County, has been charged in the June 2 shooting death of a Lancaster, Calif., man and remains in custody on a $2 million bail. He turned himself in to California authorities on June 12.
Coach Bobby Hauck has directed all media inquiries to UM executive vice president Jim Foley, who does not have direct knowledge regarding the conversation between Wickman and the coaches. Foley also does not have direct knowledge about complaints Missoula residents say they took to athletic officials in recent years.
Those residents contacted the Missoulian in the wake of Wilson's arrest, but asked to remain anonymous in news stories, for fear of retribution. They recounted instances where Wilson allegedly threatened or beat young men in Missoula.
On Friday, Foley said he hopes to meet with athletic department officials in the next few days to determine what action - if any - was taken in response to the citizens' complaints, or as a result of the conversation with Wickman.
He would not make any further comments.
Although Missoula police say they never pegged Wilson as a persistent problem around town, and never charged him with any crimes, his behavior did yield previous complaints.
In an earlier statement to the Missoulian, a police official said authorities never contacted UM coaches about Wilson's behavior. However, at the time he made the statement, that official was not aware of the chief's conversation with coaches, Wickman said.
Wickman stressed the importance of maintaining a strong liaison between UM athletics and law enforcement, and said such a relationship gives police an “advantage to mold behavior.”
“We recruit athletes from all over the world and they come to Missoula, which is a different atmosphere,” Wickman said.
“We want to interact more with our athletes,” he said. “I can only imagine being an inner-city kid who's plucked up and transplanted to Missoula.”
According to records filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Wilson was involved in an altercation between 29-year-old Kevin Smoot and Smoot's girlfriend, who is Wilson's aunt. Wilson allegedly went to Smoot's home on June 2 and shot him with a rifle.
After the shooting, which occurred on the driveway at Smoot's house, Wilson allegedly fled the scene and headed back to Missoula for summer football conditioning.
A second UM football player, cornerback Qwenton Freeman, was questioned this week by Los Angeles County detectives who said he was a witness to the shooting. Freeman would not, however, answer the officers' questions.
The detectives spent two days in Missoula, questioning UM football players, but said none would cooperate with their investigation.
“It left a bad taste in our mouth that the players wouldn't cooperate with us,” said Sgt. Steve Rubino of the Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide bureau. “If it was on the other foot and their teammate got killed, they would be really forthcoming.
“Someone got murdered here and we're just looking for some cooperation. If it was one of their players, my phone would be ringing off the hook.”
Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at 523-5264 or at tscott@missoulian.com
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