The case against Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman has been closed, only five days after he allegedly battered and falsely imprisoned a reality star whose 15 minutes of fame might finally have run out.
According to 10News, the San Diego County District Attorney has concluded that there is “insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any crime was committed.”
It’s not a surprise, given that multiple witnesses likely gave varying accounts of the incident, possibly as a result of varying amounts of alcohol consumption.
The alleged victim, Tila Tequila Nguyen, did the case no favors via a string of inflammatory and erratic entries on her Twitter page, many of which were thereafter deleted.
At one point, she vowed that Tuesday would be “judgment day.” In the end, her lawyer merely issued a statement vowing that Merriman’s defense to the claims -- that he was trying to keep Nguyen from leaving his house while drunk -- was “spin” that would be discredited.
The conclusion doesn’t mean that Merriman didn’t do it. It means only that prosecutors believed they couldn’t prove his guilt to the satisfaction of the very high legal standard that applies to criminal cases.
Nguyen has the ability to file a civil lawsuit, if she so chooses. The legal standard in such cases is much lower, requiring only a “preponderance of the evidence,” which equates to basically 50.000001 percent to 49.999999.