April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Prosecutors can tell a jury that former basketball All-Star Jayson Williams removed his fingerprints from a shotgun, got rid of bloody clothes and told others to lie to police after a hired driver was killed in his bedroom, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled today.

Prosecutors want to use the evidence in a retrial of Williams, who was acquitted in 2004 of aggravated manslaughter in the death of Costas ``Gus'' Christofi. He now is facing trial on charges of reckless manslaughter.

``The consciousness of guilt evidence is relevant to defendant's mental state at the time of the shooting for which he is charged with reckless manslaughter,'' Justice Jaynee LaVecchia wrote in the 4-3 majority opinion.

Williams, a former center for the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets, was convicted in his first trial on four charges related to the attempted cover-up of the shooting, and a mistrial was declared on the reckless manslaughter count. Defense lawyers in the first trial argued that the shooting was accidental.

No date has been set for the retrial.

Williams' lawyers had argued that it would be wrong for the new jury to hear what happened after Christofi was shot, saying it would prejudice the jurors toward conviction.

Prosecutors said that evidence of a cover-up was relevant to proving whether the shooting was reckless or an accident.

According to testimony from the first trial, Williams was in his bedroom when he took a 12-gauge shotgun out of its case and snapped it shut. The gun went off into Christofi's chest, and the 55-year-old driver died shortly thereafter.

Williams Actions

Following the shooting, witnesses testified, Williams wiped the gun with a cloth to remove his fingerprints and pressed Christofi's fingers and palm on the gun. Williams gave his clothes to a friend to discard, then instructed witnesses to lie to police by saying Christofi committed suicide.

The shooting took place on Feb. 14, 2002, when Williams was showing friends and Christofi around his home in Alexandria Township, New Jersey.

The reckless manslaughter charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

The case is State v. Williams, A-12-2006, Supreme Court of New Jersey (Trenton).

To contact the reporter on this story: Larry DiTore in New York at lditore@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 11, 2007 11:37 EDT