The lawyer for the waived Atlanta Falcons player who was
arrested for aggravated animal cruelty after his ex-girlfriend's dog died from
blunt force trauma said the 250lb player was defending himself.
Prince Shembo turned himself in on Friday after Gwinnett
County police obtained a felony warrant for the who 'kicked ex-girlfriend's
tiny Yorkie to death' claims he was acting in self-defense player's arrest
earlier in the day after Denicia Williams, 20, called police on April 19.
His attorney, Jerry Froelich, said the linebacker was bit
in the hand by Williams' dog, a Yorkie named Dior, when he was putting it in a
cage and he kicked the defenseless animal as a reflex.
Froelich told reporters outside of Gwinnett County jail his
client was crying after what happened, according to the Atlanta Journal
Constitution.
He said: “He got bit and he made a mistake and kicked the
dog.
It's a small dog and unfortunately that's what happened.
He didn't mean to kill the dog.
You see the size of it. When you're a small dog, it doesn't
take much with the size [Shembo] is.”
He's disappointed. It's devastating to him. When I first
met him he was in tears.”
Dior suffered numerous injuries - including a fractured
rib, fractured liver, abdominal hemorrhage, thoracic hemorrhage, head trauma
and a hemorrhage in the left eye with internal injuries - but Froelich would
not comment about the number of times the dog was kicked.
The Falcons acted swiftly after the warrant was announced
and waived the young linebacker.
The organization said: “We are aware of the charges that
have been filed against Prince Shembo.
We are extremely disappointed that one of our players is
involved in something like this.
Accordingly, we have decided to waive Prince Shembo.”
Another former Falcons player, quarterback Michael Vick,
ended up serving time in federal prison for his involvement in an organized
dog-fighting ring when he was a member of the team.
Shembo's attorney speculated that was the reason the team
cut him so quickly.
Froelich said: “With the history that's gone on in this
town...
The Falcons were in a little bit different position than
most teams.
If you were someplace else, I don't know.”
Vick returned to the NFL after serving his time and played
for the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets.
Before the arrest, Williams said she had taken Dior to
Shembo's apartment on April 15 and that after she left the dog alone with the
23-year-old player, she came back and the animal was unresponsive.
She took the dog to an animal hospital, where he died a
short time later.
Shembo told her the next day he had kicked the dog and she
broke up with him.
He is 6-foot-2 and weighs 254 pounds, according to the
Falcons' website.
The aggravated cruelty charge carries a minimum of one year
in prison and a maximum sentence of five years, as well as a fine of up to
$15,000.
The body of the dog underwent a necropsy at the Gwinnett
County Animal Shelter.
The results on the deceased dog came in on May 28 and
investigators revealed 'Dior had significant internal injuries and the cause of
death was blunt force trauma'.
Gwinnett County police said they obtained the warrant for
Shembo 'because of the inconsistencies of the suspect's account of what
happened and the results of the necropsy'.
The second-year player was investigated for allegedly
sexually assaulting a Saint Mary's College freshman in his dorm room in 2010
while he was playing linebacker for Notre Dame.
The alleged victim killed herself ten days later by
overdosing on antidepressants and Shembo was never charged,
The fourth-round pick said after the draft: “Pretty much it
was an unfortunate event.
My name was pretty much cleared.
It's behind me now. I just want to focus on playing football
for the Atlanta Falcons.”
Shembo recorded 59 tackles in 16 games for the Falcons last
season.
