<
>

Rodney Austin's attorney releases warrants filed in client's case

The attorney for former Detroit Lions offensive lineman Rodney Austin has released the warrants issued for his client’s arrest last week on assault charges that led to Austin’s release from the franchise.

The Mecklenburg County magistrate judge signed the warrants on April 16 after the woman who was alleging the assault filed paperwork with the magistrate’s office. Austin was booked – he turned himself in voluntarily – the next day. The four warrants are for assault of a woman, who is Austin’s ex-girlfriend, assault of the 8-month-old child Austin had with the woman, interfering with emergency communication and misdemeanor larceny.

Austin posted bail bonds totaling $4,250 and was released. His trial is scheduled in Mecklenburg County District Court on June 5.

The warrants allege Austin picked the woman up by her arms and threw her to the ground while their 8-month-old was in her arms, taking the woman’s Samsung S5 cell phone and threw it over the balcony after she says she videotaped the assault.

The alleged incident took place on April 5 from 12 a.m. until 2 a.m. with a police report filed at 2:20 a.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the magistrate report, the victim alleged “Austin assaulted me and assaulted me with my child in my arms. [Austin] also smashed my phone because I recorded the incident. I was thrown into the living room and then pushed down with child causing me to fall. [Austin] snatched the phone while I tried to call police and took it outside and smashed it to pieces.”

In the police report filed off the incident, no arrests were made and the report said neither the woman nor the child had any injuries.

“Rodney maintains his innocence and has instructed our legal team to pursue any legal avenue possible to clear his name,” Austin’s attorney, Mark Jetton, said in a statement Thursday. “He understands the extraordinary sensitivity of the domestic-violence issue, especially surrounding the NFL at this time.

“He will be respectful of the legal process and plans to play again in the NFL.”

Austin’s agent, Mark Magazu, said the allegations come from a custody dispute between Austin and the woman and on Tuesday afternoon, Jetton said Austin would be pursuing a civil suit against the woman claiming “malicious prosecution, defamation of character and slander.” Austin believes the woman’s allegations are retaliatory based on “disagreements of the future of their relationship.”

The woman, in her statement to the magistrate, doesn’t deny that when she explained in the magistrate report why the incident occurred.

“I broke up with [Austin] months before and did not give the answer he wanted when asked to re-enter the relationship,” the woman wrote. “Also, complications with separate schedules and sharing a car.”

In the magistrate report, the woman said she would like the court to have Austin stay away from her “until he receives proper help” and wants any visitation for Austin with his child supervised.

Austin was released by the Lions on Tuesday. He spent the past three seasons bouncing between Detroit’s practice squad and the team’s 53-man roster.