By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Joe Bailey, attorney for Bengals offensive lineman Levi Jones, said Tuesday that the whole story of Jones' post-Super Bowl arrest in Houston is not known.

Bailey, a partner in the firm of Hinton Sussman Bailey & Davidson, said the incident is being investigated and that early witness accounts paint a different picture than the one painted by Houston police.

Jones, 24, and his brother, Fred Robinson, both were charged with a Class D misdemeanor for interfering with a police officer.

Jones tried to take a nightstick from a police officer and had to be wrestled to the ground, a police spokeswoman said.

"Mr. Jones did nothing that would warrant him being charged with this offense," Bailey said. "What we understand is, he was standing out on the sidewalk having a conversation when the incident occurred."

As for the accusation that Jones grabbed an officer's nightstick, Bailey said, "If he had grabbed a nightstick in a threatening way. ... He was blocking blows."

Jones spent most of Monday in jail and was not released until about 3:30 p.m. Houston time because of a backlog in booking arrangements. Jones posted a $500 bond.

ALL STARS: Practices started Tuesday for the annual Pro Bowl in Honolulu on Sunday, and the Bengals' Willie Anderson was moved into the starting lineup at right offensive tackle. Anderson will start opposite of Baltimore's Jonathan Ogden because Kansas City's Willie Roaf withdrew.

"It's cool out here," Anderson said when reached Tuesday night.

The Bengals will have two starters. The other is wideout Chad Johnson.

VACANCY: Kurtis Shultz, the Bengals' assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2003, is leaving the staff to accept the position of head strength and conditioning coach for the Minnesota Vikings.

"I'm in here right now figuring out how to arrange my weight room," Shultz said from Eden Prairie, Minn. "It's a tough decision to make. Marvin (Lewis) has been great to me. But Minnesota has a great group and a good chance to do something. There are only 32 of these jobs out there."

Shultz teamed with head strength coach Chip Morton to significantly improve the conditioning of Bengals players in 2003.

Said Lewis, the Bengals' head coach: "Kurtis did a great job for us last year, working with Chip. We're very pleased for him to have this opportunity, and we wish him all the best."

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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