Abrams Assault Case Might Be Dropped

School Board Member, Ex-Council Candidate Traded Charges Over Confrontation

Prosecutors are expected to dismiss charges today in a case involving a dispute between Montgomery County school board member Stephen N. Abrams and a former county council candidate.

Barry H. Helfand, Abrams's attorney, said he expects charges against Abrams to be dismissed in a hearing scheduled today at Montgomery County District Court.

Abrams, 63, who represents the Rockville-Potomac area on the school board, was accused of assaulting Adol T. Owen-Williams in November in a dispute over campaign debts. Owen-Williams alleged that Abrams grabbed his throat and slammed his head against a wall after he asked about reimbursement for campaign expenses.

Abrams denied the allegation and said that he was the one assaulted in the Nov. 13 incident. He filed a counter-complaint against Owen-Williams.

Owen-Williams, 43, confirmed yesterday that a representative from the Frederick County state's attorney's office told him that charges of second-degree assault and attempt to extort money through an accusation against Abrams would be dismissed.

Although the incident took place in Montgomery, it was investigated by the Frederick state's attorney's office to address concerns about a conflict of interest, because Abrams is a public official in Montgomery.

Frederick officials could not be reached to comment yesterday.

The dispute stemmed from the November election. Owen-Williams said he gave up his place as a Republican candidate on the ballot to make room for Abrams, who wanted to run for an at-large council seat after losing his bid to be the Republican nominee for state comptroller.

In exchange, Owen-Williams said, Abrams agreed to take care of $5,000 in campaign debt incurred by Owen-Williams. But when Owen-Williams approached Abrams about the money after a meeting of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, he said the school board member got angry. Each of the men claimed the other assaulted him.

Owen-Williams said that Abrams called him "boy" during the argument -- a phrase that Owens-Williams said he found insulting because of its racial connotations. The incident prompted some of Abrams's school board colleagues to ask that he explain his actions.

When contacted yesterday, Abrams said he would not comment on the matter.

Owen-Williams said that he was "disappointed" that the case was being dropped but that it was time for all involved to move on.