LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Washington's NFL team is once again making headlines, as news broke Friday that running back Derrius Guice had been arrested on domestic violence-related charges, according to a spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The Washington Football Team subsequently announced he had been released from the team.
As first reported by the Washington Post, 23-year-old Guice is charged with one count of strangulation, three counts of assault and battery and one count of destruction of property. The charges stem from three domestic-related incidents that occurred in February, March and April in Loudoun County, according to the Sheriff's Office, who said they were made aware of the allegations on July 22.
"The incidents were first reported to the Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland where the victim lives," a spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office said. "It was later determined that three assaults ... took place at his home in Ashburn."
The Washington Football team released news of Guice being cut on Twitter shortly before 7 p.m. Friday.
"On Thursday we learned of a potential domestic violence related incident involving RB Derrius Guice," a statement from the team said. "We immediately alerted the National Football League and have continued to work with them during this process. We then met with Derrius to inform him that he was excused from all team activity pending a review of this matter. This afternoon we learned that there were multiple charges filed against Derrius. Upon review of the nature of these charges and following internal discussions, we have decided to release Derrius immediately."
When the Washington Post reported in July that 15 women alleged they were sexually harassed and verbally abused while they worked for Washington's NFL team, head coach Ron Rivera made it clear he was creating a "new culture" within the organization.
“We’re hoping to get people to understand that they need to judge us on where we are and where we’re going, as opposed to where we’ve been," Rivera said. "We have policies that we will follow and that we have an open-door policy with no retribution. Plus my daughter works for the team and I sure as hell am not going to allow any of this!"
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Guice turned himself in at the Loudoun Adult Detention Center Friday and was released on a $10,000 bond.
Peter Greenspun, of Greenspun Shapiro PC law firm, will represent Guice, and when asked for comment, Greenspun said his client "adamantly denies" the charges.
Greenspun released the following statement on his client's behalf:
"On August 7, 2020 the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office obtained arrest warrants for Derrius Guice. Unfortunately, the investigators did not seek a statement or any input from Derrius before the warrants were issued. The failure to fully investigate allegations of events, which allegedly took place months ago, is inexplicable. Based only on the assertion of these unsubstantiated charges, the Washington Football Team released Derrius, also without any inquiry as to what did or did not take place. Derrius has continued to work exceedingly hard to contribute to the Washington Football Team and was expected to be a key player this season, yet he was released without a single question as to what occurred. Derrius will defend these charges in court, where a full vetting of the allegations will take place, in contrast to actions by local law enforcement and the Washington Football Team that assumed the worst, directly contradicting every sense of fairness and due process."
Washington's NFL team selected Guice as their first pick in the 2018 draft, in the second round, but he missed the 2018 season due to an ACL injury he sustained during a preseason game. In 2019, he tore his meniscus in his right knee in the season-opener.
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