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Steelers' Najeh Davenport Not Guilty In Domestic Violence Case
POSTED: 11:41 am EDT April 8,
2008
UPDATED: 4:40 pm EDT April 10,
2008
CLEVELAND -- Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najeh Davenport, who had been accused of slapping and punching the mother of his 5-year-old son, was cleared by a Cleveland jury on Wednesday.Davenport was found not guilty of misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangering in connection with the Oct. 4 incident in Cleveland.City prosecutors alleged that Davenport hit Anita Person during an argument after he drove from Pittsburgh to Cleveland to pick up his son for the weekend.In Pittsburgh on Thursday, Davenport told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that he was angry over the entire matter."I'm mad, because I had to hire a lawyer for something that's a frivolous charge like it was," Davenport said. "With all the evidence that wasn't stacked against me, I was still charged. That's got to say something about the person who I am, you know."According to police, Davenport threatened to keep the child. Person said Davenport drove off as she unbuckled the boy's seat belt and then slapped and choked her and slammed her to the ground while she held the boy.Person said Davenport had physically abused her on several occasions, at times more severely. She testified against him at the trial.Defense attorney Patrick D'Angelo said photos showed Person with no marks on her face and neck."If he did that which they say he did, we would have a lot different series of photographs to be showing you," D'Angelo said.Davenport testified in his own defense, saying he never assaulted Person."I get charged with domestic violence on a person they say I did X,Y,Z, yet she didn't have a mark on her," Davenport said on Thursday. "And the next day, she got a civil attorney trying to sue me. In fact, she got a civil attorney before I was even charged with a crime, so at the end of the day, all it boils down to is that."According to Davenport, Person became upset over his plans to seek custody, climbed into the back seat of his moving car, kneeled on his 2-year-old son and grabbed the 5-year-old, then scratched Davenport's face outside the car.
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Copyright 2008 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
