Warren Sapp takes plea deal in domestic battery case
LAS VEGAS » Hall of Famer Warren Sapp took a plea deal Thursday that spares him jail time in a Las Vegas criminal case involving a scuffle with his former girlfriend that began after margaritas at a casino hotel swimming pool.
The 42-year-old former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders defensive tackle pleaded no contest in Las Vegas Justice Court to one misdemeanor domestic violence charge, court officials said.
A judge fined Sapp $345 and ordered him to pay $2,555 in restitution, log 48 hours of community service and six months of counseling, and stay out of trouble for six months. Two other misdemeanor domestic violence charges were dismissed.
Sapp also has to stay away from the victim, prosecutor Lisa Luzaich said. He faces six months in jail if he violates terms of the deal.
Sapp’s attorney, Rich Tanasi, didn’t immediately respond to messages.
Sapp was charged in June with arguing with the woman and pulling her arm or purse in an April incident at the M Resort in Henderson, and knocking the woman down a short time later at her Las Vegas condominium.
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The woman told police she ended up on the floor and thought she may have suffered a concussion when Sapp stepped on the right side of her face.
The accusation came just months after Sapp was fired as an on-air analyst for the NFL Network after a Feb. 2 arrest in Phoenix for assaulting and soliciting a prostitute during Super Bowl weekend.
He pleaded guilty to both charges, and the solicitation charge was dropped after he completed a diversion program.
Sapp played in the NFL from 1995 to 2007, and filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.