Wednesday, September 25, 2002
Moss faces felony after night in jail
Receiver allegedly pushed traffic control agent with car
The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — Randy Moss spent the night in jail facing a possible felony charge after being arrested for allegedly pushing a traffic agent a half-block with his car.
The arrest could keep the Minnesota Vikings' star receiver out of the team's game Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
The 27-year-old agent stepped in front of Moss' car to stop him from making an illegal turn in downtown Minneapolis, and Moss used his car to slowly push the officer along the street, stopping when she fell to the ground, police spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington said Tuesday.
Barrington said Amy Zaccardi is a city employee but not a police officer and was not seriously hurt. Witnesses called the situation “surreal” but said it was clear Moss did not intend to hurt Zaccardi.
Police arrested Moss on suspicion of assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony. He was being held in Hennepin County Jail early Wednesday. Barrington said the county attorney would consider charges.
“He's going to be treated like anybody else,” Barrington said.
Vikings coach Mike Tice declined comment Tuesday, but the Star Tribune reported Wednesday that a person with knowledge of the situation told the newspaper that it is highly unlikely Moss will play Sunday.
Moss' agent, Dante DiTrapano, had been in contact with the player Tuesday but declined comment.
Jerry Hullerman said he saw the event while parked near the intersection.
“I saw a really decked-out Lexus pushing the traffic person along,” said Hullerman, who was also interviewed by police. “It was really surreal.”
He said Zaccardi was facing forward while sitting on the front of the car with one hand on the hood and the other hand on her radio as the car pushed her along.
After a few seconds, Hullerman said, the man in the car tapped the accelerator and knocked her down.
“She fell flat on her face,” Hullerman said, adding that the driver didn't get out of his car.
Hullerman said squad cars arrived seconds later and officers took Moss into custody.
”(Moss) was going really slow,” said Robert Nelson, another witness. “Apparently, he didn't want to hurt her. I think he was just trying to frighten her into moving.”
Moss has been in trouble before on and off the field throughout his career. He squirted a referee with a water bottle in 1999 — which resulted in a $25,000 fine from the NFL — and abused corporate sponsors on the team bus in 2001. The last infraction resulted in the team fining him $15,000 and forcing him to attend anger management classes.
He had a scholarship revoked by Notre Dame in 1995 after being charged with beating up a high school classmate in Rand, W.Va. Moss pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was allowed to defer most of the sentence until after his freshman year in college.
He went to Florida State, where he redshirted his freshman season but was kicked off the team for violating probation by smoking marijuana. That got him a one-year jail sentence, which was reduced to about one month of time served.
Virtually out of chances, Moss walked on at Marshall and quickly became a star.
The 25-year-old Moss is in his fifth year with the Vikings and is the team's highest-paid player. He signed an eight-year, $75 million contract last year.
He set an NFL record with 5,396 yards receiving in his first four seasons as a pro and is the only wide receiver with more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first four seasons. Moss has scored more touchdowns since his 1998 debut than anyone except St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk.
The Vikings are off to an 0-3 start, their worst since 1967, and Moss caught just four passes for 16 yards in Sunday's loss to Carolina.
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Moss faces felony after night in jail 
