| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) A woman filed suit against San Diego Chargers tackle Leonardo Carson accusing the former Auburn star of breaking into her home, assaulting and kidnapping her.
The lawsuit filed Monday by Tasha Locke, 22, seeks financial damages. It follows criminal charges filed Aug. 21 against Carson, 26, once a prep standout in Mobile.
Dan McCleave, an attorney for Locke, said Tuesday that Locke's sister, Lashaye Locke, and Carson have an 8-year-old daughter together and that Lashaye Locke had left him out of fear for her safety. Carson had made threatening calls to Tasha Locke trying to find out where her sister and the child were, McCleave said.
After breaking into Tasha Locke's apartment on Aug. 21, Carson demanded that Locke take Carson to the child's school, the attorney said.
McCleave said Carson is physically imposing, listed at 305 pounds, more than twice the weight of Tasha Locke.
When Carson was arrested Aug. 21 on criminal charges, investigators said Carson broke out a window to enter Locke's apartment and forcibly removed Locke, dragging her to his car.
Carson was pursed by relatives Tasha Locke had called, and his car apparently ran over a curb and came to a stop, with Locke escaping and flagging down a patrol officer, McCleave said. Carson tried to flee but was caught, police said.
Carson was released on $57,500 bond on the kidnapping and burglary charges. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Oct. 8 in the criminal case.
McCleave said the civil suit seeks unspecified damages.
``We anticipate a sizable reward,'' he told the Mobile Register.
The newspaper said Carson and his San Diego-based attorney, Steve Feldman, were unavailable for comment. Feldman did not immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press.
The Register said the Aug. 21 allegations against Carson follow a February 2002 case in which he was charged with harassment and menacing after being accused of pulling a gun at a car repair shop in Mobile. The newspaper said that as of August the outcome of that case had not been determined. County prosecutors were not immediately available Tuesday to say if the charges were still pending.
State records also show Carson was arrested for third-degree assault and third-degree criminal mischief in February 2001, with a jury trial scheduled for Oct. 9, the newspaper said.
The Register also reported that a third-degree assault charge against Carson in 2000 was dropped, and Carson received youthful offender status when arrested in March 1996 for breaking into a car.
Carson, a fourth-round pick out of Auburn in 2000, is listed as San Diego's second-string left defensive tackle.