INDIANAPOLIS _ Tuscaloosa County (Ala.) District Court Judge Joanne Jannik listened to evidence Thursday and said she'll decide at a later date whether there's probable cause to prosecute Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey for allegedly stealing a cellphone charger from an Uber driver.
Humphrey, the Ravens' first-round draft pick in 2017, was arrested Jan. 25 and charged with third-degree robbery. He and his lawyer, Paul Patterson, have said the incident was more of a misunderstanding.
Humphrey was at Thursday's preliminary hearing, which featured testimony from the investigator of the case and another passenger in the car.
"It was abundantly clear from the evidence presented that the Uber driver was out for secondary gain," Patterson said in a phone interview with The Baltimore Sun on Thursday night. "The investigative officer testified that the Uber driver called him 10 to 15 times, insisting on pressing charges. One of the independent witnesses that we put on the stand testified that the Uber driver made the statement that he was going to make Marlon pay and that he was going to press charges. It was clear that the Uber driver was demanding money from Marlon and discovered that he was a pro athlete."
Jannik will decide whether the case should move on to the Tuscaloosa grand jury or the charges should be dismissed.
The alleged robbery occurred Jan. 13 and involved a $15 phone charger. According to the incident report, Humphrey and two females were picked up by an Uber driver and taken to Hotel Capstone in Tuscaloosa. Humphrey asked to borrow a cellphone cable to charge his phone.
According to the incident report, Humphrey initially refused to return the cable when the ride reached its destination and grabbed other cables from the vehicle. The driver also alleged that Humphrey elbowed him aside.
Patterson said Thursday that an independent eyewitness testified at the hearing that it was the Uber driver who got out of the car and "confronted Marlon with a balled-up fist as if to strike him."
"It's just unfortunate that these types of cases are allowed to clog up our judicial system," Patterson said.
Humphrey, 21, played in all 16 games, starting five, in his rookie season.
