Hope Solo arrest: Nephew says she was drinking, called him ‘too fat to be an athlete’
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Version 0 of 1. The 17-year-old nephew of soccer star Hope Solo described a frightening and escalating family fight early Saturday morning that resulted in Solo’s arrest on domestic violence assault charges. The teenager’s statement was released in court documents Monday as Solo entered a not-guilty plea to the two gross misdemeanor charges during arraignment in a Kirkland, Wash., Municipal Court and was released on her own recognizance. Solo, who is due back in court Aug. 11, also was ordered to stay away from her nephew and half-sister and to refrain from using alcohol. She has, through her attorney, said she is innocent. Problems began Saturday evening, court documents indicate that the nephew told police, when Solo’s husband, former NFL player Jerramy Stevens, angered her by refusing to take her to the airport. She was drinking wine at a family gathering and became increasingly angry with her nephew as they talked. In court documents, according to the Seattle Times’ Christine Clarridge: Solo’s nephew told police that his mother — Solo’s older half-sister — had just started letting Solo back into their lives, according to an affidavit of probable cause outlining the police case. Solo had apparently been estranged from the family because “she always does this,” the teen reportedly told police, an apparent reference to past problems. Police wrote in the affidavit that the teen’s T-shirt was torn and he had scratch marks on his arms and a bleeding cut on his ear when officers arrived. The teen told police the altercation began as he discussed theatrical productions he’d been in, the affidavit says. The teen explained that he believes that a good actor has to have an “athletic state of mind.” Solo then told him he was “too fat and overweight and crazy to ever be an athlete,” according to the court document. The teen responded by calling Solo a name, told her to get out of the house and then walked into another part of the house. Solo followed him and called him crazy again, the document says. He told Solo that she and her father were crazy, according to the affidavit. Solo charged him, punched him in the face and tackled him, the court document alleges. When the teen’s mother tried to intervene, Solo attacked her as well, the document says. The teen tried to pull Solo off his mother and then broke a wooden broom over her head, the document says. Court documents say the 17-year-old “got an old gun that did not work” and pointed it at her in an attempt to get her to stop assaulting him and his mother and to leave. The handgun was ultimately determined by police to be a broken BB gun. Solo would not leave, however, and was “circling like a shark,” the teen told police. According to the affidavit, Solo’s half-sister got her out of the house, but Solo then walked around it, hopped over a fence and re-entered through a sliding door. Solo’s nephew told police that his mother — Solo’s older half-sister — had just started letting Solo back into their lives, according to an affidavit of probable cause outlining the police case. Solo had apparently been estranged from the family because “she always does this,” the teen reportedly told police, an apparent reference to past problems. Police wrote in the affidavit that the teen’s T-shirt was torn and he had scratch marks on his arms and a bleeding cut on his ear when officers arrived. The teen told police the altercation began as he discussed theatrical productions he’d been in, the affidavit says. The teen explained that he believes that a good actor has to have an “athletic state of mind.” Solo then told him he was “too fat and overweight and crazy to ever be an athlete,” according to the court document. The teen responded by calling Solo a name, told her to get out of the house and then walked into another part of the house. Solo followed him and called him crazy again, the document says. He told Solo that she and her father were crazy, according to the affidavit. Solo charged him, punched him in the face and tackled him, the court document alleges. When the teen’s mother tried to intervene, Solo attacked her as well, the document says. The teen tried to pull Solo off his mother and then broke a wooden broom over her head, the document says. Court documents say the 17-year-old “got an old gun that did not work” and pointed it at her in an attempt to get her to stop assaulting him and his mother and to leave. The handgun was ultimately determined by police to be a broken BB gun. Solo would not leave, however, and was “circling like a shark,” the teen told police. According to the affidavit, Solo’s half-sister got her out of the house, but Solo then walked around it, hopped over a fence and re-entered through a sliding door. Solo’s lawyer, Todd Maybrown, asserted her innocence in emails to the Times and to the Associated Press over the weekend. “Hope is not guilty of any crime,” Maybrown wrote. “In fact, our investigation reveals that Hope was assaulted and injured during this unfortunate incident. We look forward to the opportunity to present the true facts in court and to having this matter behind Hope very soon.” |