Charges Filed Against Darrelle Revis After Pittsburgh Altercation; Lawyer Says Jets Star Was The Victim
PITTSBURGH (CBSNewYork) -- Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis was charged with multiple criminal counts late Thursday, following an early-ng altercation this past weekend.
Revis was officially charged with robbery, terroristic threats, conspiracy and aggravated assault, police said. But he was not in custody late Thursday night and had yet to be questioned.
Because of his high price tag and a lack of production, Revis' future with the Jets was already tenuous, CBS2's Otis Livingston reported. If the reports of the weekend incident are true, Revis certainly did not help his cause.
Revis, 31, is from the Pittsburgh suburb of Aliquippa. His visit to his hometown of Pittsburgh took an ugly turn early Sunday morning.
Police in a criminal complaint said they took reports from three men. The first said he approached Revis on the city's South Side at around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, complimented his clothes and asked if he was Darrelle Revis – and Revis acknowledged that he was.
The first man said in disbelief to Revis, "No you're not," and Revis again confirmed his identity, police said.
The first man said Revis got angry and started waving his hands and telling the man to get out of his face, police said. The first man said at that point, he started recording video on his cellphone. The first man said Revis began walking away from him down East Carson Street while the man recorded him.
The first man told police he wanted to get what Revis was wearing and his actions on video, police said.
The first man said once Revis noticed he was being recorded, he grabbed the man's phone and tried to delete the video. The first man said he tried to grab his phone back from Revis, but was unsuccessful. He said Revis threw the phone into East Carson Street and tried to break it.
The first man said after quarreling about the phone, the next thing he remembered was getting punched and then waking up to talk to police.
A second man confirmed the first man's story, and said he too was trying to grab the first man's phone back from Revis before Revis threw it into the street, police said. The second man said he too was punched and remembered waking up to talk to police.
A third man confirmed the story and said after the first two men were punched, Revis came up to him and said, "I got more guys coming," police said. The third man said Revis stepped within a foot of his face with fists clenched, saying, "Do you want to be next?" police said.
The third man said Revis and another man ran off down East Carson Street. The third man said he then tried to wake up the first two men who were punched and knocked out, and said they were unconscious for "at least 10 minutes."
An officer reported the first man showed him video he captured at the scene, which showed a man who appeared to be Revis becoming hostile to the group. The video also showed Revis in front of a bar saying, "Why are you following me," several times before the video stops, police said.
Revis' attorney contradicts the account, saying Revis was assaulted by at least five people and feared for his safety.
"He was not the aggressor that night. He was 1,000 percent the victim," said attorney Blaine Jones. "He tried to retreat. He did everything in his power to get the situation to die down; to deescalate the situation that the other group started. Darrelle was by himself when he was physically assaulted by one of the men."
Fans who spoke to CBS2 weren't so charitable. They seemed simply fed up.
"I just think these New York players are out of control now," said Robert Herrera.
"You've got to be smarter, especially in this day and age," said a man named Charles.
"Kids look up to you as a role model," said Glenn Anderson. "Come on, don't be doing -- you can't be doing stuff like that."
Attorney Jones also said he had not seen the video that was reportedly retrieved from the cellphone by police. He said Revis would turn himself in rather soon.
CBS2 also spoke to the Jets, who said they were aware of the situation and had spoke to Revis, and had no further comment.
The Jets drafted Revis with the 14th overall pick in the 2007 draft. Widely regarded as the best cornerback of his era, he played six seasons in New York before he was traded to the Buccaneers in 2013. After playing one season in Tampa and another in New England, where he won a Super Bowl, Revis returned to the Jets as a free agent before the 2015 season.