Saturday, April 08, 2000
Bengals' Foley cleared
Case of mistaken identity
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Bengals starting outside linebacker Steve Foley was cleared Friday of all charges stemming from a shooting outside a Monroe, La., bar earlier this week.
James R. Pierre, the city of Monroe's prosecuting attorney, gave Foley a letter saying he was the victim of a case of mistaken identity and absolved him of any guilt after he was accused of shooting a gun into the air and charged with disturbing the peace by being drunk and disorderly early Thursday morning.
Todd Newman, Foley's agent, said police pulled over a car Foley was in after one of the bar's bouncers shouted his name when the shooting started. He said a bouncer at the bar, who turned out to be a friend of Newman's, ended up going to the police and clearing Foley.
“There were about 10, 15 shots into the air and no one got hurt, but everybody was run ning away, including Steve,” Newman said. “The bouncer saw Steve across the street and yelled out his name to tell him to take cover.”
Some people who heard the name thought that meant Foley was doing the shooting.
“It was clearly a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Newman said.
But it was enough to shake Foley, 24, coming off a mediocre season after a strong rookie year. Foley said Friday he's already in the NFL alcohol rehab program after a DUI last year, and he feared the most recent incident would get him suspended for the first four games of the season.
“I'm relieved some of these guys came forward and backed up my story,” Foley said. “I should be back (in Cincinnati) next week and I'll be working out.”
Newman was encouraged by a meeting with Foley's probation officer Friday in which she said Foley hadn't violated terms of the probation stemming from the DUI. Newman also spoke to the NFL and got the sense the dropping of charges means the league won't take any more action.
Foley, who has been arrested three times in Ouachita Parish in the past year, also is charged with domestic violence in a February case. Foley denies he grabbed his son's mother by the throat the morning after he was arrested on a warrant charging him with failure to appear on a non-support charge.
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