LeSean McCoy interrupted his series of Kobe Tweets to fire this ‘Gram into the ether with the caption: “And the story must continue !!!! Thankful LorD”

What does that mean? F if I know, but it certainly sounds like he got some good news.

DA Seth Williams was not present at McCoy’s meeting with the DA’s office earlier this week. The assistant DA was there. A source close to the investigation told me that there is a real feeling amongst cops that Williams is too buddy-buddy with McCoy (and generally the Eagles), and that they have some level of personal relationship. Williams is big Eagles fan who has countless pictures on his Twitter from on the field and in the tunnel with several players over the past few years (I couldn’t find one with McCoy). Whether a potential conflict is real or perceived, it’s certainly on the mind of some in law enforcement.

UPDATE: McCoy doesn’t expect to be charged:

#fallguy

UPDATE 2: DA’s office says this is not true.

Longtime local reporter Ralph Cipriano laid out the version of events that may allow LeSean McCoy to walk free, perhaps rightfully.

Cipriano – who was described to me by one Philly media vet as “plugged in, but prone to exaggeration– the Sal Pal of the courts ” – was on the WIP morning show today talking about his piece for Big Trial, a site which appears to be a terrific piece of content marketing for The Beasley Firm (not involved in the McCoy case, to the best of my knowledge), in which he paints the off-duty cops as the aggressors in the fight at Recess, raising numerous questions about their behavior that night.

Normally I’d blockquote a portion of this, but there’s so much here that it’s hard to choose what to focus on. The gist of Cipriano’s version of events, which sounds like it’s also probably McCoy’s version of events, is that the off-duty officers and McCoy’s group had been at another club earlier in the night, without confrontation or incident. There were two women involved who were with the off-duty officers earlier in the night, and then at McCoy’s table when the officers showed up to Recess later on (football players, man). The bottle of champagne in question, which led to the fight, may or may not have been sent to McCoy’s table by one of the cops for one of the women, who may have been celebrating a birthday. There was some confusion over whose bottle it was and a fight ensued, instigated by one of the off-duty officers, according to Cipriano’s reporting.

What’s more, and what’s worse for police and the DA, is the insinuation that at least two of the officers were drunk, drove themselves through a police barricade on the way to Recess by flashing their badges, and that after the fight one of them drove himself to a hospital in Upper Darby, perhaps in an attempt to sober up. Oh, and something about a gun:

As McCoy was being led away from the melee, he felt someone shove him. He turned around and saw Sgt. Ayres standing beside another man. Sgt. Ayres got shoved. Then, a witness saw Sgt. Ayres reach for his firearm, a black 9 mm pistol. The witness told McCoy that Sgt. Ayres was a cop, and pulled McCoy away.

On the police side of the story, the gun presents another problem. According to a directive from the police commissioner, off-duty officers are not supposed to carry guns inside bars. Sgt. Dan may have some explaining to do.

There’s A LOT of speculation here, but these are the sorts of actions McCoy’s lawyers will shine a bright light on if this goes to trial.

Read Cipriano’s full piece here.

…

Meanwhile, ESPN’s John Barr asked the fraternal order of police and officer Darnell Jessie’s attorney about these claims – that the officers started the fight – and, well, neither party denied it:

So now, it seems, we have an alernate version of events – certainly much different than Hollis Thomas’ version –  which paints the off-duty officers in just the world light possible. And, thus, the lack of charges.

The John Barr report is after the jump. Continue Reading

I’m wondering what evidence is left to collect? There are three videos, several witnesses and club workers. It’s not like they’re waiting on DNA evidence or something. It was a fight.

UPDATE: From a source involved in the investigation: “No one here has any faith in the DA charging McCoy or anyone after that statement.”

That’s ESPN investigative reporter extraordinaire John Barr going even a step further than what I’ve been saying (that McCoy charges likely aren’t coming until at least Monday). Why the delay? A PERSON CONNECTED TO THE INVESTIGATION* told me that the DA’s office is “no longer [seeking] probable cause to arrest… they want beyond reasonable doubt,” which is the standard typically reserved for guilty judgements in court, not for the arrest, which has a much lower threshold. Continue Reading