A surveillance video that was expected to shed significant light in the Adrian Peterson case ended up not existing. In the case of the other NFL running back arrested over the weekend, a surveillance video could have a major impact on the outcome.
The only catch? Each side in the Dion Lewis fire-alarm fracas believes the video will help vindicate its position.
Bryan Fitzgerald of the Albany (New York) Times-Union chronicles the competing versions of the events. The lawyer representing Lamar Lewis, Dion’s older brother, claims the allegations are “overblown,” and that the situation resulted from a security guard refusing to let the two men into the Hampton Inn at 4:30 a.m. ET without their room keys. The manager of the Hampton Inn, Todd Reichelt, contends that the Lewis brothers behaved belligerently, and that the security guard believed the men could be a threat.
“Once the video comes out everything will come to light,” Reichelt said, a contention that was essentially echoed by Lamar Lewis’ lawyer.
The incident arose from an effort by Dion and Lamar Lewis to do the smart thing. Planning to go drinking on Pearl Street in Albany, they rented a room at the Hampton Inn so that they wouldn’t need a ride home. They reportedly returned to the hotel drunk at 4:00 a.m., and they left not long thereafter, accidentally leaving their room keys behind.
The lawyer representing Lamar Lewis, who initially was held without bail because he has two prior felony convictions, said the effort to get back into the hotel was "[t]he equivalent to a college prank gone bad.” The hotel manager says the men were screaming loudly and banging on the door, pulling the fire alarm intentionally.
The surveillance video could break the tie. For now, each party thinks the video will cause the truth to break in their direction.