An "extraordinary delay" in Bills running back LeSean McCoy's case related to a nightclub brawl Feb. 7 in Philadelphia may be about to end, The Buffalo News reported.
While a spokesman for the Philadelphia district attorney's office said, "We continue to investigate," The News reported that an unidentified source close to the investigation said the DA’s office would likely hold a news conference to share its findings in the case on Thursday, “Friday at the latest.”
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“It’s truly extraordinary to have this kind of a delay in this kind of case,” an unidentified source close to the situation told The News. “It’s not a six-month investigation where there’s wiretaps and surveillance and confidential informants placed inside of a drug organization. This is, essentially, a simple bar fight. And it raises all sorts of questions about the extent to which the prosecutor’s office is confident in the information that’s been provided them.”
As of Wednesday, no charges had been filed against McCoy and the three men with him the night of the melee that began over who owned a bottle of champagne. It's unclear if arrest warrants would be issued in conjunction with the DA's news conference.
Meanwhile, one of two Philadelphia-based criminal defense attorneys representing McCoy continued to profess his innocence in the incident.
“We’re awaiting a decision by the DA’s office,” Dennis Cogan said. “We trust that they are really taking time to consider all the surrounding circumstances. But I’m here to say and I’m telling you that McCoy did nothing wrong, nothing wrong. And he was sober. The questions will have to be asked about the conditions of other people.”
The president of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, John McNesby, said he believes the DA is taking a cautious approach given the usual nature of the case, which involves three off-duty police officers, two of whom needed hospital treatment. According to police, one suffered a broken nose, broken ribs and other injuries after being punched, knocked to the ground, kicked and stomped on by all four of the suspects, and the other sustained a skull fracture and broken ribs.
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“I think they’re being a little bit more thorough than the average investigation,” McNesby told The News. “They’re making sure all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed. They’re looking under every, I guess, crevice, whatever you can find. They’re looking everywhere.
“I think it’s clear, by the video (available online) and everything else, that, eventually, this is going to come to a head and then it will start back up again. The fact of the matter is that this was serious, not only because police officers were involved or off-duty police. I think it was because the nature of what you saw there.
“Once (the investigation concludes), I think if they can come to a resolution on this quickly and put it behind everybody, they’ll probably be better off, both for (McCoy) and our guys,” McNesby said. “Let’s get a quick resolution, don’t let it linger around.”
