New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault, one felony count each of robbery and conspiracy, and a misdemeanor count of terroristic threats after a street altercation over the weekend that witnesses say left two men unconscious.
“According to the investigation, a 22-year-old male from Kittanning was walking along E. Carson Street when he spotted a male who resembled Aliquippa native (Darrelle) Revis, a cornerback in the NFL,” the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety’s statement reads. “He asked if the man was (Darrelle) Revis and he confirmed that he was. The male began recording the interaction on his cellphone and continued following Revis. At some point, Revis snatched the cellphone away and attempted to delete the video.
“Another 21-year-old male from Ross Township attempted to help the 22-year-old retrieve the cellphone. Revis then tossed the phone onto the roadway. A verbal argument followed. A male came to assist Revis. Both the 22-year-old and the 21-year-old state they were punched then remember waking up to talk to police. Witnesses state the two were unconscious for about 10 minutes. The Officers viewed the cellphone video and confirmed that the person was Revis.”
The two men told police they were punched by Revis during the verbal altercation. Officers viewed the cellphone video at the scene and confirmed the person in it was Revis. The men said they later took themselves to the hospital and that one was diagnosed with an orbital floor fracture. Revis’ attorney Blaine Jones had a different account of what happened and said Revis suffered injuries in the scuffle and sought medical attention as well.
Jones said Revis had returned home to Pittsburgh to visit family and friends and stopped by a location on the South Side that he is in the process of developing. When asked why he was there so late, Jones said his client “didn’t want to be around a lot of people” while looking at the real estate investments and “kind of wanted to do it on his own terms.”
Revis was “physically assaulted while at the location by a group of at least five people,” Jones said.
The attorney said Revis was shoved by one of the men and attempted to walk away. The man who pushed Revis, he said, yelled at him. At that point, Revis knocked the cellphone out of the man’s hand, according to Jones.
“It’s my understanding that when Darrelle turned around he wasn’t sure whether it was a weapon or a phone,” Jones told reporters. “He didn’t know. He just knows he left, these guys were saying his name, he turns around and sees an object and he wasn’t sure what it was or whether he was going to get robbed or assaulted or what.
“He feared for his safety.”
“The bottom line is, Darrelle Revis was the victim in all of this,” Jones told ESPN in a phone interview. “He never went out to start a fight. He has stellar credibility.
Jones says Revis will surrender to authorities in the next day or two.
