Stevens released in assault case

KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP)

Former Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens was arrested on suspicion of assaulting U.S. women's soccer team goalkeeper Hope Solo a day before their planned wedding day, according to police and court records.

A Kirkland Municipal Court judge released Stevens after a court appearance Tuesday, saying there was no evidence connecting Stevens to any assault, according to news reports. He was arrested early Monday for fourth-degree domestic violence assault but has not been charged.

The judge determined there was not enough to hold Stevens, but the case is still under investigation, Kirkland Police Lt. Mike Murray said Tuesday. Charges could be brought later if prosecutors and police find other evidence, he said.

Solo appeared in the courtroom Tuesday afternoon, but left without saying anything to reporters, according to KING-TV. A call to a number listed for Stevens in court documents rang unanswered. A message left at a listed number for Solo was not immediately returned.

Stevens, 33, and Solo, 31, applied for a marriage license Thursday, according to King County records.

The two, who have been in a relationship for two months, were set to get married Tuesday and argued over whether to live in Washington or Florida after their marriage, according to court documents.

Police in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland responded to a disturbance at a home around 3:45 a.m. Monday involving a physical altercation between eight people during a party, said Lt. Murray.

He said officers contacted several people in the home who appeared intoxicated and didn't cooperate with police, but determined based on information and observations that there was probable cause to arrest Stevens for investigation of fourth-degree assault. Murray didn't identify the alleged victim, but court records show it was Solo, who received a cut to her elbow.

Court documents show that Solo's 34-year-old brother, Marcus, called 911, and that he and Solo told officers there was a party and blamed the disturbance on two to three unknown men who were at the party. Marcus Solo told police he used a stun gun on one of the men, who left the party before police arrived, according to court records.

According to court documents, a police officer found Stevens, ''who appeared to be hiding,'' lying between the bed and the wall in an upstairs bedroom. Stevens told officers he was sleeping on the floor and didn't hear the fight. The officer saw signs of a fight, and dried blood on Stevens' shirt.

The officer noted in his affidavit for probable cause for arrest that he arrested Stevens based on his admission that he argued with Hope Solo, the injury to her elbow, signs of a fight in the bedroom where Stevens was found and blood on Stevens' shirt. One 32-year-old woman was taken to the hospital for treatment of a hip injury, and another man suffered multiple bumps, scrapes and contusions, Murray said.

''If officers find that an assault may have taken place, then we have to make an arrest on who we determine is the primary aggressor,'' Murray said.

Stevens was selected with the No. 28 pick of the 2002 draft by the Seahawks after a stellar career on the field at Washington. But he also was involved in incidents away from football that included reckless driving charges for crashing into a nursing home.

He was mostly a first-round bust with the Seahawks, except for the 2005 season when he started a career-high 12 games and had 45 receptions as the Seahawks won the NFC championship. His run-ins with the law weren't done when he left college. Stevens was arrested on reckless driving charges in 2003 in a Seattle suburb and in 2007 when he was charged with driving under the influence in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Stevens' most recent arrest came in 2010, while he was playing for Tampa Bay, when he was arrested the night before a game for possession of marijuana. He was almost immediately released by the team.