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Battery charge dropped against ex-NFL star Warren Sapp
Warren Sapp, a former University of Miami star who played with the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was in Miami Beach in February to host a party during Super Bowl festivities. AP FILE
BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
Stiletto high heels helped prosecutors decide Wednesday not to pursue a domestic violence charge against former NFL great Warren Sapp, who was arrested in February for allegedly battering his former girlfriend at a Miami Beach hotel.
The woman had claimed Sapp pushed her during an argument in a room at the Shore Club, and she fell awkwardly on her leg. She said she was in ``excruciating pain'' and had to limp through the hotel lobby with the help of an unknown man who had been walking through the hallway.
But witnesses and hotel video surveillance indicated the woman was ``walking in high heeled stilettos, and acting in a jovial manner'' as she left the Shore Club.
Because of glaring inconsistencies in her testimony -- one witness also said the woman kept partying at her house after the incident -- prosecutors felt they could not prove the misdemeanor battery count, according to a close-out memo filed by Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Heather Ravich.
Sapp, a former University of Miami star who played with the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was in town that week to host a party during Super Bowl festivities.
``From the beginning, Mr. Sapp was always confident in the system and that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing,'' said Sapp's attorney, Christopher Lyons.
Warren Sapp, a former University of Miami star who played with the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was in Miami Beach in February to host a party during Super Bowl festivities. AP FILE
BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
Stiletto high heels helped prosecutors decide Wednesday not to pursue a domestic violence charge against former NFL great Warren Sapp, who was arrested in February for allegedly battering his former girlfriend at a Miami Beach hotel.
The woman had claimed Sapp pushed her during an argument in a room at the Shore Club, and she fell awkwardly on her leg. She said she was in ``excruciating pain'' and had to limp through the hotel lobby with the help of an unknown man who had been walking through the hallway.
But witnesses and hotel video surveillance indicated the woman was ``walking in high heeled stilettos, and acting in a jovial manner'' as she left the Shore Club.
Because of glaring inconsistencies in her testimony -- one witness also said the woman kept partying at her house after the incident -- prosecutors felt they could not prove the misdemeanor battery count, according to a close-out memo filed by Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Heather Ravich.
Sapp, a former University of Miami star who played with the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was in town that week to host a party during Super Bowl festivities.
``From the beginning, Mr. Sapp was always confident in the system and that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing,'' said Sapp's attorney, Christopher Lyons.
