Chiefs RB Johnson reportedly to face assault charge in December

ESPN.com news services






Updated: October 14, 2008, 1:58 AM ET



Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson will answer a charge of simple assault December in Kansas City Municipal Court, the Kansas City Star reported on Tuesday night.

Citing police and court documents, the newspaper said that a 26-year-old woman accused Johnson of pushing her on the side of the head at a nightclub on Feb. 24, 2008.
Johnson's lawyer, Kevin E.J. Regan, told the newspaper that his client will be vindicated at trial. He claimed that the woman did not inform management, security officers or police at the club of the incident but waited 11 hours to report the alleged assault.
Capt. Rich Lockhart, a police spokesman, said charges did not come for six months because the police force was working on more pressing cases. The delay made if difficult to find a witness, who was finally interviewed in July or August.
That witness then picked Johnson out of a lineup.
"One has to question the fairness of a lineup shown six months later, involving someone whose photograph is published often in the media," Regan said, according to the Star.
Johnson could be sentenced to six months in jail and a $500 fine if convicted.