Charges dropped against dismissed Utah CB Dominique Hatfield
The robbery charges against recently dismissed Utah cornerback Dominique Hatfield were dropped on Thursday.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the state filed a motion to drop the charges because “new evidence has been received and examined that casts doubt on the defendant’s guilt of the crimes as alleged in the original information.”
Hatfield was arrested for allegedly robbing a man of $180 at knifepoint on June 30. Court documents say the victim was robbed after answering an online ad for the sale of an Xbox. Later on the same day, the victim’s wife saw an ad for two iPhones from the same seller and arranged a meeting. At the subsequent meeting at the same location of the earlier robbery, Hatfield, who was in possession of two iPhones, was arrested.
However, Salt Lake County District Attorney Blake Nakamura said that video surveillance from a nearby convenience store complicates things.
From the Tribune:
Specifically, Salt Lake County District Attorney chief deputy Blake Nakamura told The Tribune, the case is complicated by video footage from a nearby Maverik where the suspect is said to have texted the victim, and by number-spoofing technology that allows several cellphones to respond to the same number without creating a call history.
Nakamura said that the case “requires more investigation” and the state could potentially re-file charges against Hatfield, including for theft of the two iPhones.
From the Tribune:
Nakamura said “the totality of the circumstances” warranted the charges against Hatfield. Now, though, it “requires more investigation before we can put the whole thing to rest.”
The state can still re-file charges against Hatfield, though Hatfield attorney Greg Skordas believes it’s unlikely the state would re-file the robbery charge.
Nakamura said the state was, however, likely to re-file a class A misdemeanor theft charge for the two phones, which court documents say Hatfield admitted to finding at parties and trying to sell without attempting to return them to their owners.
Hatfield’s attorney, Greg Skordas, says the surveillance tape shows that Hatfield is not guilty of armed robbery.
Skordas said the Maverik video, in particular, proves that Hatfield wasn’t guilty of the armed robbery.
In it, a man who meets the victim’s original description of the suspect fills up and pays for gas — long a mystery for the defense, since Hatfield doesn’t own a car, according to co-counsel Greg Phillips. That occurs minutes before the alleged robbery at a car wash across the street.
That man is not Hatfield, Skordas said. Asked if the video also shows Hatfield, he said, “I couldn’t answer that either way, definitively.”
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said in a statement Friday that the dismissed charges opens the door for a possible return to the Utes.
“We are relieved that Dominique has been exonerated of the charges against him, but that does not necessarily impact the disciplinary actions we imposed due to a violation of team rules,” Whittingham said. “There is, however, the possibility of future reinstatement to our team if he is able to meet certain expectations we have in place for our student-athletes.”
A junior from Los Angeles, Hatfield was an expected starter in the secondary for the Utes in 2015. Hatfield hadd 38 tackles, nine pass breakups and one interception in 10 starts as a sophomore in 2014.
He played wide receiver as a true freshman in 2013 and had four catches for 84 yards.
For more Utah news, visit Utezone.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
