Manning charged with assault
May 19, 2006
BY BRAD BIGGS Staff Reporter
Bears cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. is scheduled to be arraigned on a felony count of assault next Friday in Los Angeles.
Manning had his initial court appearance stemming from an April 23 incident at a Denny's restaurant pushed back Thursday, but the Los Angeles District Attorney's office revealed that he will be charged with one count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.
Manning officially became a Bear on April 24 after the Carolina Panthers declined to match the restricted free agent's five-year offer sheet worth as much as $21 million. That came less than 48 hours after police say Manning and two other former UCLA football players beat Soroush Sabzi until he was unconscious at the eatery near the Westwood campus.
Manning's agent, Jim Ivler, said he hadn't expected the DA's office to move forward with charges.
"Based upon the information that has been shared with us by the LAPD over the past few weeks, we were surprised a case was filed,'' said Ivler, who declined to comment further until he had a chance to review additional evidence.
One piece of evidence is believed to be videotape from the restaurant.
Former UCLA running backs Maurice Drew, a second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars last month, and Tyler Ebell face the same assault count and are expected to be arraigned soon. All three are free on $30,000 bail.
Complicating matters for Manning is that he remains on probation from an April 2002 assault.
Additionally, Sabzi filed a civil suit against Manning and Drew on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, and Ebell is expected to be added. Sabzi, 25, is suing for assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and conspiracy. He is seeking punitive damages.
His attorney, Aviv L. Tuchman, said Sabzi is in consultation with a neurologist because of a concussion he allegedly suffered in the attack, faces possible knee surgery and also has a shoulder injury.
In the Superior Court of California, plaintiffs cannot state an amount of damages they are seeking, "but it's going to be high,'' Tuchman said. "This conduct is reprehensible, this conduct is disgusting and it's outrageous. They need to be punished.''
Ivler had no comment on the civil suit until he saw the paperwork.
Los Angeles Police Department detective Robert Lewis told the Sun-Times the men attacked Sabzi after teasing him for working on a laptop in the restaurant at 3 a.m.
bbiggs@suntimes.com
The plot thickens. This kind of stuff makes me ill.
Manning Jr. charged with assault in L.A.
If you can't break your nose at it, it ain't a sport.
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