9:49pm: While Defilippis said “the only thing (McDonald) got was a booking sheet when he left,” he also added, “they told him to stay away from her,” Anderson tweets.
Defilippis also provided his explanation for what occurred prior to McDonald’s latest arrest.
“Today my investigator contacted her and confirmed that she was in Santa Cruz, and Ray went over to the apartment to meet the investigator to let him in so that he could get photographs of this allegedly broken door, and lo and behold the cops show up and arrest him,” said Defilippis. “He was not served with a restraining order. We confirmed that the young lady was not going to be there. He goes there to meet the investigator for a legitimate purpose and the police show up and arrest him; and knowing these facts the police still have insisted upon keeping him custody…This is pretty much gamesmanship on their part.”
9:28pm: McDonald’s attorney Steve Defilippis tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that he was never aware of any restraining order against his client.
“When Ray McDonald was released from jail he was not served with a restraining order. They say there is a restraining order now, but they never served him with it,” the attorney said.
8:50pm: After Ray McDonald‘s alleged domestic violence incident over the weekend, his attorney went on the offensive to try and cast doubt on the alleged victim’s motives. Now, it sounds like his job just got even more difficult. The defensive end was arrested Wednesday by Santa Clara, California police for violating a restraining order, according to Katie Nelson of the San Jose Mercury News (via Twitter).
McDonald was issued a restraining order following his Memorial Day arrest and it required him to stay away from his ex-fiancée. After this latest violation, it’s not immediately clear if he’ll have the opportunity to post bail like he did on Monday. After he was sprung loose from jail, the Bears wasted little time in ridding him from their roster.
“We believe in second chances, but when we signed Ray we were very clear what our expectations were if he was to remain a Bear. He was not able to meet the standard and the decision was made to release him,” Bears GM Ryan Pace said.
McDonald inked a one-year deal with the Bears earlier this offseason despite his checkered past. Chicago brass went to bat for McDonald against public criticism and concerns, but that vote of confidence has apparently backfired. The defensive end’s season was already in a bit of jeopardy since the league had yet to make a decision on his December incident. Now, given these two incidents within the span of three days, the 30-year-old might not see the gridiron ever again.
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), McDonald was the league’s 12th-best 3-4 defensive end in 2014, grading well both against the run and as a pass rusher. Over the last four regular seasons as the 49ers’ starting left defensive end, McDonald racked up 14.5 sacks, 153 tackles, five forced fumbles, and a safety.