Jailed Hawk Locklear released after court appearance
SEATTLE -- Seattle Seahawks starting right tackle Sean Locklear was released without bail after an initial court appearance Tuesday for investigation of domestic violence assault.
Locklear was not charged at the hearing at a King County Jail courtroom, but Municipal Court judge Edsonya Charles ordered him to have no contact with his girlfriend, with whom he lives. He must also abstain from alcohol and other drugs while the case is pending. A second court date was set for Feb. 13 at 9 a.m.
Locklear made no statement in court Tuesday, except to answer yes or no questions from the judge.
Locklear was arrested Sunday, hours after the team's 20-10 playoff win over the Washington Redskins. He was unable to appear before a judge Monday because the courts were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
City police were investigating an unrelated incident about 1 a.m. Sunday when three people told them a man was assaulting a woman on a nearby sidewalk. Police said the two were Locklear and his girlfriend, whose name was redacted from the police report.
According to the police report, the woman said she and Locklear had been at Belltown Billiards with friends when the player grew angry because she was dancing with another man.
They walked outside as she tried to tell him she had done nothing wrong but "this just upset him further," according to the report.
As they walked down the sidewalk, "Locklear grabbed her around the neck," the police report said. Officers wrote that they observed visible redness on her neck and chest. The woman then began to cry and refused to provide more information, insisting, "He didn't do anything."
She refused to let officers photograph her injuries or to provide a written statement, the police report said. She also declined medical attention.
The three independent witnesses who initially summoned police said they saw the man grab the woman around the neck, "putting both hands around her neck," according to the report.
Police said Locklear confirmed he and the woman had been arguing but said he grabbed her by the front of her shirt, not her neck. He made no further comments, police said.
Locklear has retained the law firm Fox Bowman Duarte of Bellevue, which advertises itself as a specialist in defense against drunken driving charges, The Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Tuesday.
"At this point the firm is investigating the case and there will be no comment until the investigation is complete," said Jon Scott Fox, a partner in the firm, in a statement issued late Monday. "Mr. Locklear has been cooperating fully with this investigation and throughout this case remains entitled to the presumption of innocence afforded to all citizens."
Locklear's status for the NFC Championship Game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday was unclear. But coach Mike Holmgren said he didn't think the incident would be a distraction to his team.
"What I know about it so far -- and I don't know everything -- it should not be," Holmgren said Monday, without specifically addressing Locklear's playing status.
"I have to wait on details on that. I am aware of the situation. But right now, I have no comment. When we get more information, [we] will give it to you," Holmgren said.
Locklear, 24, was a third-round draft choice out of North Carolina State in 2004.
Hillsborough county, Tampa. Shows mug shots.
Peppers lines up as the LDE for the Panthers. He'll be right in front of Locklear all day long.
of the feminist rhetoric about to come my way. 
