Marvin Harrison Faces Civil Suit For Shooting | Indianapolis Colts

Last spring, Marvin Harrison was accused of shooting man while back home in his native Philadelphia. There was a swarm of coverage for a few weeks, which later died off when the Philadelphia District Attorney declined to press criminal charges against the Colts wide receiver. As the 2008 NFL season approached, there was more controversy swirling around the status of Marvin Harrison’s ability to come back from age and injury to be a productive cog in the Colts’ offensive active attack than whether or not he was, in fact, the shooter in the crime in question.

The story of Marvin Harrison and the Philadelphia shooting just got fresh legs.

According to to Philly.com, the victim of the shooting has filed a civil lawsuit against Marvin Harrison. Furthermore, just because criminal charges have not yet been filed does not necessarily mean that they will not be forthcoming at some point in the future. According to the Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney, the case is still considered open. (In related news, Peyton Manning claims that while the criminal investigation into Marvin Harrison the potential shooter is still open, Manning’s own field investigation into Marvin Harrison the wide receiver has concluded that he is not open; at least not as much as he used to be.)

The victim in question is a man named Dwight Dixon. He reportedly would not identify Marvin Harrison as the shooter initially, which contributed to the District Attorney’s hesitance to file criminal charges; however, has now come forward with the accusations that are the basis for the civil suit, which claim that Harrison was the shooter. Apparently Dwight Dixon is just as decisive as Peyton Manning at the line of scrimmage. (I will now force myself to stop making lame and cliched Peyton Manning jokes.)

According to the facts that have been gathered thus far by the Philly D.A., the following is known to have occurred regarding the involvement of Marvin Harrison in the events leading up to and surrounding the shooting of Dwight Dixon (quoting Philly.com explicitly):

* Harrison and Dixon squabbled for two weeks before the shooting after they exchanged words in Playmakers, a bar on 28th Street near Cambridge that Harrison owns.

* Ballistics tests proved shell casings found at the shooting scene had been fired from Harrison’s gun, a Belgian-made FN5.7, law-enforcement sources said.

* Detectives found the firearm in Harrison’s garage on Thompson Street.

* Witnesses and Dixon separately identified Harrison as the shooter, the sources said.

Despite these purported facts, Dixon’s oft-changing story may work against him. Certainly, he wishy-washiness will be highlighted heavily by the Marvin Harrison defense team during the upcoming proceedings, which will no doubt feature an under-oath deposition of Harrison. Marvin Harrison will have the option of invoking his 5th Amendment rights if he so chooses; but, this could be seen as an implicit admission of guilt and according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com (a lawyer) this invocation of the 5th Amendment would be admissible in the civil trial. In the face of seemingly strong circumstantial evidence that, at the very least, seems to suggest negligence on Harrison’s part (since his gun was the one used in the shooting, regardless of if he pulled the trigger or not), one would think he would be compelled to explain his side of the story.

I had been wondering what had become of this case considering its evaporation from recent media coverage. The original story of the shooting, and the potential involvement of quiet, mild-mannered Marvin Harrison, was one of the most surprising stories I had ever read. Perhaps there is more to this story that we do not know and Marvin Harrison will be cleared of the most serious charges; or, perhaps we’ll learn that there was much more to Marvin Harrison that met the eye. Either way, it will be fascinating to watch this story play itself out and it has been a good lesson: just because someone is quiet and reluctant to talk does not necessarily mean they don’t have good stories to tell.

It remains to be seen if Marvin Harrison will tell his story, and exactly what kind of trouble it may (or may not) get him into.

[tags]marvin harrison, indianapolis colts, civil suit, shooting, philadelphia[/tags]

Tags: civil suit, Indianapolis Colts, marvin harrison, peyton manning, philadelphia, shooting

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