Duke player's D.C. trial begins

WASHINGTON - Duke University lacrosse player Collin Finnerty instigated an attack on two bar patrons in Georgetown last year, allegedly shouting anti-gay slurs and asking one man if he'd perform a sex act, according to trial testimony from his accuser yesterday.

The 19-year-old Garden City native [CORRECTION: Collin Finnerty, a suspect in the Duke rape case, is a resident of Garden City. Stories this week mischaracterized his connection to the village. PG. A11 ALL 7/15/06] and two former Chaminade High School classmates allegedly surrounded Jeffrey Bloxsom and Scott Herndon during the wee hours of Nov. 5, taunting and shoving the pair as they tried to walk home. The group then briefly brawled, leaving Bloxsom with a bloody lip and bruised cheek, prosecutors charged on the first day of Finnerty's trial in District of Columbia Superior Court.

Finnerty faces 180 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both if convicted of misdemeanor assault. He won't testify on his own behalf today as the trial concludes, his father, Kevin, told Newsday.

The U.S. attorney's office had originally agreed to a deal that would have allowed Finnerty to plead guilty and perform community service, but the offer was rescinded after he was charged with raping a dancer near the Duke campus in Durham, N.C.

In a dramatic hour on the stand, Bloxsom told the court that a drunk Finnerty shoved him and stood close to his ear, shouting, "Say you're a fag! "

Bloxsom, 27, who isn't gay and had dinner with his fianc�e hours before the attack, said he replied, "I'm a fag," hoping his pursuers would let him go.

Instead, he claimed that Finnerty taunted him further by asking if Bloxsom would perform a sex act on another man; again, Bloxsom said he would in hopes of avoiding violence.

A few minutes later, Bloxsom - who said at one point he tried to get away by pushing one of the men - said he was on the ground, after being punched by an unidentified member of Finnerty's group. Herndon testified Finnerty punched and kicked him, although he suffered no significant injuries.

Finnerty's attorney Steve McCool portrayed the incident as a dispute that got out of hand, suggesting that Herndon may have started the fight. He also portrayed Herndon as a hothead who liked to drink, focusing on Herndon's 2004 arrest for drunkenness outside a Virginia bar.

In an odd twist, D.C.-based blogger Wonkette.com reported yesterday that Finnerty was seen at a party in Washington's Glover Park neighborhood Saturday, July 1. The post misspelled Finnerty's first name and incorrectly reported that he had already been "convicted. "

Still, it caught the attention of Judge John H. Bayly, who said he'd investigate whether Finnerty had violated his 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. court-imposed curfew.

"Collin Finnerty was not at a party anywhere on Saturday night," McCool told reporters. "He has been abiding by his curfew conditions. "

Two other former Chaminade students arrested in the assault, Daniel Dagnes and Patrick Bonanno, were allowed to submit guilty pleas in exchange for a six-month restitution program that includes community service.