Charges filed against Steelers linebacker in Fayette County withdrawn
Mark Hofmann | Herald-Standard
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo (front right) arrives for a preliminary hearing Wednesday at Fayette County Central Court. Chickillo, 26, was charged with simple assault for allegedly injuring his girlfriend during a fight in a hotel room at a Nemacolin Woodlands Resort on Oct. 20. The charges filed against him were withdrawn.
Mark Hofmann | Herald-Standard
Alysha Newman, 25, of Ontario, Canada, walks into Fayette County Central Court on Wednesday. Newman told police her boyfriend, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo, assaulted her in their hotel room at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Wharton Township on Oct. 20. A citation filed against her was withdrawn.
Mark Hofmann | Herald-Standard
Fayette County District Attorney Rich Bower discusses the withdrawal of charges against Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo on Wednesday outside of Fayette County Central Court.
Mark Hofmann | Herald-Standard
Attorney Robert Del Greco Jr. (left) speaks to the media about the withdrawal of charges against his client, Anthony Chickillo on Wednesday.
Simple assault and other charges filed against a Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker were withdrawn Wednesday in Fayette County.
Anthony Chickillo, 26, of Tampa, Florida, was charged earlier this month with injuring his girlfriend, Alysha Newman, 25, of Ontario, Canada, during a fight in their Nemacolin Woodlands Resort hotel room.
District Attorney Rich Bower said Newman no longer wanted to pursue the charges.
Chickillo’s attorney, Robert Del Greco Jr., said his client is currently on the NFL’s exempt list, and he hopes the results of the hearing will have a positive impact on the league’s inquiry.
“For lack of a better expression, it is a win. It is a resounding win,” he said of the withdrawal.
Bower said he spoke with both Newman and Chickillo for about 1½ hours with their attorneys. He said they both “wish the best for each other.”
“They have no animosity toward each other. Additionally they have indicated to me that they have both forgiven each other for what has happened. It was an incident where it was, in their opinion, blown out of proportion,” Bower said.
He said they both want to “move forward with their lives.”
“Both individuals appear to be very good people. They just got in a bad situation,” he said.
The couple was gambling at the Wharton Township resort’s Lady Luck Casino on Oct. 20, and got into a verbal argument that turned physical when they got back to their room, police said. Newman told police Chickillo grabbed her by her arms and forced her against a wall and door in the room and threw her to the ground after she punched him in the head to get away from him.
She locked herself in a bathroom until police arrived, according to court paperwork.
Newman, a pole vaulter who competed on behalf of Canada in the 2016 Olympics, told police she believed Chickillo intended to injure her.
Authorities said Chickillo admitted to pushing Newman to the ground. Newman was cited for harassment in the case, and that summary offense was also withdrawn.
“Anthony Chickillo is a high-character individual. He has absolutely positively no hint of misconduct in his past. He has earned a pristine reputation,” Del Greco said. “And I dare say that the withdrawal of the charges today have allowed him to restore the impeccable reputation for being a law-abiding non-violent and peaceable individual.”
He faced charges of simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief.