Arrest of former USC player Dread a case of ‘mistaken identity,’ attorney says

Columbia police have charged the wrong man, the attorney for Jalen Dread said Tuesday after a bond hearing for the former USC football player.

Columbia attorney Lori Murray called the third-degree assault and battery charge against Dread a case of mistaken identity and said she will request a jury trial on the charge.

“There was another football player that was there,” Murray said Tuesday after bond was set for Dread, who is accused in the April 29 assault at the Five Points Saloon on Harden Street.

Murray declined to name the player while speaking with reporters but said Dread was not near the argument that prompted the assault.

Columbia police investigators said they do not expect to charge anyone else in connection with the incident.

“The Columbia Police Department stands by the investigation,” police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said in an email Tuesday. “Dread was identified by multiple witnesses.”

A 24-year-old man told officers he confronted three men inside the bar after his phone was knocked out of his hand, according to a police report provided by the police department. The men “became agitated” at the accusation, and the argument escalated to the man being punched in the face several times.

Murray noted after the hearing that Dread has no marks or injuries to his hands.

“He would have had marks on his fist if he punched this guy three times in the face.” she said. “He said he was across the bar.”

The report stated that the assailants were identified as University of South Carolina football players but didn’t specify who made the identification. The document, which is a public record, specifically named Dread along with Deebo Samuel and Skai Moore. Police later said it was bar staff who identified the assailants as football players.

The police department announced over the weekend that Samuel was not at the bar when the incident happened but said he he was in Five Points. Moore was present but did not participate in the assault, police said.

There was surveillance video related to the incident, which police investigators have analyzed. The State newspaper has filed an open-records request for a copy of the footage, but the city of Columbia has said it will not release the video.

Timmons said the investigation is considered ongoing until the case goes to court, and that the surveillance video is evidence in that investigation.

Murray said she has not yet viewed the footage.

“My understanding is that the video’s not great, but I’m hopeful it will at least show it wasn’t (Dread),” she said.

A judge granted Dread a $1,087 personal recognizance bond. Murray noted during the hearing that Dread has at least a 3.0 grade point average at USC, and that he went home to Alabama after the incident but returned to South Carolina after learning there was a warrant for his arrest.

Dread was charged by USC police in January with leaving the scene of an accident. Murray said during the bond hearing that he struck another car in his dormitory parking lot late one night.

He went inside, and as he left the building the next morning, he saw officers investigating the damage. He approached them and told them he was involved, Murray said. Richland court records say Dread served 10 days in jail, but Murray said Tuesday that he paid a fine.

Dread has a court appearance scheduled for June 21.

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Arrest of former USC player Dread a case of ‘mistaken identity,’ attorney says."