The lawyer for running back Derrius Guice, who was arrested on domestic violence-related charges and released by the Washington Football Team, said Guice “adamantly denies” the charges and the NFL team rushed to judgment with the 23-year-old player.
Guice was arrested Friday.
Defense attorney Peter Greenspun, in a statement, was critical of the process that led to Guice’s arrest.
“On August 7, 2020, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office obtained arrest warrants for Derrius Guice,” Greenspun said. “Unfortunately, the investigators did not seek a statement or any input from Derrius before the warrants were issued.”
The charges include one count of strangulation, three counts of assault and battery and one count of destruction of property.
The charges stem from incidents that happened earlier this year — on Feb. 14, March 13 and April 17 — in Loudoun County, where Guice lives and the team’s headquarters and practice facility is located.
The allegations against Guice were first reported in Montgomery County, where the victim lives, and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office first learned of them on July 22.
“The failure to fully investigate allegations of events, which allegedly took place months ago, is inexplicable,” said Greenspun.
Guice turned himself in and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
“Based only on the assertion of these unsubstantiated charges, the Washington Football Team released Derrius, also without any inquiry as to what did or did not take place.”
Guice’s attorney said his client was expected to be a key player for the team this season, “yet he was released without a single question as to what occurred.”
Greenspun, who has represented high-profile defendants in the region, including Beltway Sniper John Allen Muhammad, said Guice will defend the charges in court.
“A full vetting of the allegations will take place, in contrast to actions by local law enforcement and the Washington Football Team that assumed the worst, directly contradicting every sense of fairness and due process,” said Greenspun.
