PITTSBURGH (AP) — One of three men acquitted last month of
trying to carjack the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Adams sued the lineman
Tuesday, saying Adams lied when he claimed the man had a gun and
threatened Adams.
Adams and Allegheny County prosecutors claimed
Dquay Means, 26, threatened Adams with a gun when he exited a restaurant
about 3 a.m. June 1, and attempted to steal his car. Another of the
defendants allegedly stabbed Adams instead, and the men ran away. Adams
was hospitalized for four days.
The defendants argued at their
trial last month that the encounter wasn’t a carjacking but a fight that
began when a drunken Adams knocked food out of the hands of one the
men. Means and Jerrell Whitlock, 27, the man who accused of stabbing
Adams, were acquitted of attempted homicide, aggravated assault,
conspiracy and attempted robbery. Means was convicted only of escape,
which involved his flight from police once he knew he was wanted.
Michael
Paranay, 26, the man who claimed Adams knocked his food from him, was
also acquitted of all charges against him. Paranay’s attorney argued at
trial that Adams was the aggressor and "obliterated drunk, aggressive
and out of control."
The lawsuit echoes Means’ trial claims that
Adams’ version of events changed and that he had an incentive to lie
because he was drunk, which Adams denies. Neither Adams nor his agent
could be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
According to court
papers, Adams initially told police Means pulled a gun from his
waistband and held him at gunpoint. Adams later testified that Means
merely took the gun from his pocket and never raised it.
Means’
attorneys have argued that Adams knew he would be in trouble with the
team for starting a drunken fight and, therefore, had to come up with a
different version of events. The Steelers drafted Adams in the second
round in 2012 out of Ohio State after his stock dropped due to testing
positive for marijuana at the NFL combine. The Steelers had planned to
pass on Adams entirely, but he persuaded general manager Kevin Colbert
that the pot test was an aberration.
Colbert has said the Steelers drafted Adams subject to certain stipulations, which the team has never
disclosed.
"Michael
Adams was fearful of losing what he had in the NFL and made it all up,
at least as pertains to Mr. Means," Means’ attorney Monte Rabner said
Tuesday.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for false arrest
and defamation, among other claims, and because Means spent nearly 11
months in jail until his acquittal. He’s on house arrest awaiting
sentencing on the escape charge.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.