Chilling details have emerged regarding Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers’ shocking arrest Saturday on assault, strangulation and drug charges.
Peppers and his girlfriend had an altercation in which he is alleged to have “hit her, choked her, took off her clothing and put her outside,” according to the police report, as chronicled by wcvb.com.
The woman in question told officers that Peppers put his hands on her neck, slammed her head into the wall and then threw her down stairs, per the report.
Peppers’ attorney Mark Brofsky disputed those claims after his client was released on bond Monday from Quincy District Court following his not guilty plea.
He said they have video “and other” evidence which “sheds real doubt on the allegation,” per the report.
“What I said in the court room, I’ll repeat, that we have evidence that completely contradicts the alleged victim’s story, and I expect my client to be fully exonerated,” Brofsky said outside the courtroom.
Police reportedly responded at 4:15 a.m. Saturday for a disturbance call involving the 29-year-old Peppers and his girlfriend.
Officers discovered a clear bag with a white powder substance in his wallet and he told them “it is cocaine,” according to the wcvb.com report.
Peppers told police he had asked the woman to leave his apartment several times and denied that he touched her, instead claiming she fell down the stairs due to being inebriated.
Police treated the woman at the scene.
“He denied pushing her down the stairs and said that she was making those allegations to destroy his career,” the police report stated, per the outlet.
Peppers is being charged with “assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and possession of a Class B substance believed to be cocaine,” per ESPN.
A hearing is next set for Nov. 22, but Peppers’ presence has been waived, per the outlet.
The Patriots and NFL both said in statements they are aware of the situation, while first-year New England head coach Jerod Mayo did not say whether Peppers’ roster spot is in jeopardy.
Mayo said the safety is allowed at the team’s facility for the time being, according to ESPN.
Peppers, in his third season with the Patriots, had been downgraded from questionable to out on Saturday before Sunday’s 15-10 home loss to the Dolphins.
The team signed him to a three-year, $30 million extension this offseason.
“He called me that morning. I knew what was going on,” Mayo told sports radio WEEI on Monday. “We’ve informed the NFL what was going on and we’re still gathering information.
“I don’t think anyone knows the facts or anything like that. It’s a process.”