Rashawn Bolton, aka Rashawn Jeter, at MetLife Stadium during a New York Jets game. (Facebook)
A childhood friend of Darrelle Revis testified on Wednesday that he was the one who threw the knockout punches during an altercation last month that led to the arrest of the former New York Jets cornerback on felony charges.
Rashawn Bolton, 31, said he was coming to the aid of his friend when he punched the two men, Dallas Cousins and Zacheriah Jarvis, during the incident in Pittsburgh on February 12, NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala reports.
Bolton’s testimony contributed to a Pennsylvania judge’s decision to dismiss all the charges against Revis, who was released by the Jets after his arrest. Kinkhabwala said the accusers didn’t know who hit them.
After sitting in court for entire 1:45 hearing: dismissal of charges vs Revis only option. Both accusers admitted didn’t know who hit them.
It is not clear if Bolton, also known as Rashawn Jeter, exposed himself to potential charges by testifying for his fellow Aliquippa native. Revis told Kinkhabwala he isn’t sure yet if the accusers should be forced to pay restitution or be punished for filing false charges against him.
Here’s what you need to know about Bolton, Revis and the incident:
1. Revis’ Attorney Said the NFL Star ‘Feared for His Safety’ After a Man Started Recording a Video of Him
Rashawn Bolton with Revis. (Facebook)
Darrelle Revis’ attorney, Blaine Jones, previously told TMZ and other news outlets that his client was not the aggressor during the February incident. Jones said Revis “feared for his safety” after he was threatened by the two men, who were drunk.
The incident occurred about 2:45 a.m. in the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, according to CBS New York.
He was not the aggressor that night,” Jones told the news station. “He was 1,000 percent the victim. He tried to retreat. He did everything in his power to try to get this situation to die down, to de-escalate the situation that the other group started. Darrelle was by himself when he was physically assaulted by one of the men. And unfortunately, at what point in time do you say, ‘Enough is enough’?”
The two men said Revis was angry because they tried to film him on their cell phones.
Cousins, 22, said he suffered a fracture near his eye, and Jarvis, 21, suffered a bruised cheek, CBS New York reports. Another man who was with them, Nathan Watt, 22, told police Revis came up to him with his fists clenched after his friends were knocked out and said, “I’ve got more guys coming. Do you want to be next?”
2. Bolton Told the District Attorney ‘If You Was My Friend & You Said You Was Getting Jumped, I’d Help You’
Rashawn Bolton. (Facebook)
Rashawn Bolton’s attorney told Aditi Kinkhabwala, “unequivocally” there was no financial incentive for his client to speak up and say it wasn’t Revis who threw the punches.
Revis’ friend tells DA: “If you was my friend and you said you was getting jumped, I’d help you.”
Kinkhabwala reports that Bolton told the district attorney while testifying, “If you was my friend and you said you was getting jumped, I’d help you.”
Along with testifying he threw the knockout punches, Bolton, also known as Rashawn Jeter, testified it was his voice heard saying “I knocked both of these motherf*ckers out, both of them. They both sleeping” in a video of the aftermath of the fight obtained by TMZ Sports.
You can watch the video below.
Bolton can also be heard in the video, which shows the two men flat on their backs and unconscious, saying to someone “shut up before I knock your ass out next. Both of y’all shut up.”
Two other attorneys representing Revis, Robert DelGreco Jr. and Mark Fiorill, said in a statement the footage obtained by TMZ clears their client.
“Darrelle Revis absolutely, categorically and positively did not knock out anyone, did not conspire with anyone to commit an assault, did not say ‘shut up before I knock your [expletive] out next’ and surely did not ‘rob’ another of a cell phone,” the statement said. “The voice and admissions made on the video are not that of Darrelle Revis. We have no doubt but that further investigation relative to the clothing and voice verification will corroborate the above assertions.”
Revis was charged by the Pittsburgh Police with aggravated assault, conspiracy, robbery and terroristic threats and released without having to post bail. The charges were dropped after the preliminary hearing where Bolton testified.
Bolton told PennLive.com he wasn’t asked by Revis to come forward.
Rashawn Bolton (pre. un-ID-ed man) said Revis never contacted him to come forward. Bolton went to his attorney, Casey White, White said.
Once he heard about the charges, that is. Bolton repeatedly said he heard about the charges on TMZ and SportsCenter. The TMZ video was his.
He testified under oath that he was the one who punched the two men in defense of Revis, the newspaper reports.
Rashawn Bolton, previously un-ID-ed man, said friends of Dallas Cousins and Zacheriah Jarvis came up to him, Revis, post-KO, 1 apologized:
“A neutral, detached, disinterested judge determined that there isn’t even probably cause for this case to warrant further trial consideration,” Robert Del Greco Jr., Revis’ attorney told reporters.
3. He Played Football at Aliquippa High School With Revis on a Team That Won a State Championship in 2003
(Facebook)
Bolton played football at Aliquippa High School alongside Revis, according to an article in The Morning Call.
Their team won the Class AA state championship game in 2003.
Bolton also played on the basketball team and was on the track team at Aliquippa High School, according to news reports from his time at the school.
4. Bolton Served 2 Years in Federal Prison for Selling Crack Cocaine
Rashawn Bolton. (Facebook)
Bolton was convicted of selling crack cocaine after his arrest in 2009 during a federal drug investigation, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
He pleaded guilty to the distribution of between 50 to 150 grams of crack cocaine, according to federal court documents. He had no previous criminal convictions.
Bolton was originally sentenced to five years in prison, but according to court records that sentence was reduced to two years. He was released from custody on March 25, 2011.
He now works as a sales associate for a trimboard company, according to his Linkedin profile.
5. Revis Has Said Growing Up in Aliquippa ‘Taught Me a lot How Life, It Taught Me How to be Strong’
Darrelle Revis stands in the backyard of the house he grew up in overlooking his neighborhood on March 10, 2010 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Revis has talked about how his childhood in Aliquippa, where he and Bolton were raised, impacted his life. His hometown was featured on ESPN in a E:60 documentary in 2013:
“I will always hold Aliquippa down in my heart,” Revis told ESPN “I wouldn’t want to grow up any other place. This , town taught me a lot about life, it taught me how to be strong . I’m proud to be a Quip from Quiptown.”
Revis, 31, is a free agent after being cut by the Jets last month. After his court appearance Wednesday, he told the NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala he still has the “hunger” to play football, and said he would love to sign with his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers.
