Police: Buc attacks at own fundraiser
TAMPA - A dispute over a $1,670 bar tab turned into a brawl Sunday morning involving Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Frank Murphy, police say.
Murphy, 27, walked into Bahasa Lounge at 2408 W Kennedy Blvd., with about 30 friends as part of the First Annual Frank Murphy Celebrity Weekend, a benefit for children.
The trouble came about 3 a.m., when he began walking out without paying th
tab, police said.
He argued with Bahasa staffers and then punched employee Michael Garvin, 23, police said.
Garvin went down and Murphy kicked him, investigators said. Garvin was treated at t
he scene for bruises and a cut to his head.
Murphy left, but returned about 30 minutes later, after c
hanging clothes. His attorney was with him.
Murphy was not arrested because the battery was a misdemeanor, said Tampa police Lt. Mike Palmieri.
Palmieri said the people involved had different stories about who was supposed to pay the bar tab, but no details were released. As of Sunday night, the bar tab still had not been paid, Palmieri said.
"Since he's Frank Murphy the Tampa Bay Buc, everybody assumed that he was good for the bill," Palmieri said. "Obviously, they found out otherwise."
Police said the State Attorney's Office will review the case to decide on charges, which could include battery or grand theft for the unpaid tab.
N
either the co-owner of the Bahasa Lounge, Cory Riina, nor Murphy could be reached for comment Sunday night.
A spokesman for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers said the organization had no comment until mor
e information was available.
This was not Murphy's first scrape with the law.
He was arrested in 1993, when he was 16, and held for eight
months on charges including robbery with a firearm, aggravated battery, grand larceny and kidnapping, say Florida Department of Law Enforcement records.
Murphy maintained his innocence. He was acquitted, or the charges were dropped, on all but the burglary charge.
He pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to six months, but was credited for time served. He paid a fine of $253 and was placed on three years' probation.
In 1997, he spent six days in jail for violating probation.
In an interview in 2001, Murphy said that his run-in with the law, which involved a carjacking, was a result of
hanging around with the wrong people and that his time in jail made him a better man.
"Being around the people that I was around in there and knowing that that wasn't the kind o
f lifestyle that I wanted, it was a learning experience," he said in 2001. "I don't want to go back down that road."
Murphy's troubles Sunday began with good intentions, a benefit for chi
ldren through the Murphytyme Foundation for Kids.
To raise money, he got involved in the Frank Murphy Celebrity Weekend, which began Friday night with the Murphytyme Ball and fashion show at Faze 2, a nightclub on Busch Boulevard.
It continued with the party at Bahasa Lounge.
The final event was scheduled for Sunday night at Blue Martini in International Plaza. It advertised such special guests as football players Derrick Brooks, Simeon Rice, Warren Sapp and Keyshawn Johnson.
Blue Martini manager Ryan Glendy said that the event was still planned to begin at 10 p.m. He didn&#
39;t anticipate any problems with the bar tab.
"Before anybody starts a tab here we get a credit card from them just to avoid that situation," Glendy said.
The Bucs sign
ed Murphy in January. He originally joined the Bucs in 2000, and scored the first touchdown under coach Jon Gruden, with a kickoff return during the 2002 preseason.
He was cut before the start of the regular season.
He spent the next two yea
rs with the Houston Texans.
- Times staff writers Roger Mills and Rick Stroud contributed to this report.
BUCCANEER BRUSHES WITH THE LAW
APRIL 11: Defensive tackle Ellis Wyms was arrested after police said he kicked in the passenger-side door of a limousine he was riding in. He was charged with criminal mischief, a third-degree felony, after an altercation outside of the International House of Pancakes in Carrollwood. He agreed to enter a pretrial intervention program and pay for the damage to the vehicle. If he completes the program, formal charges w
ill be dropped. Wyms agreed in February to a six-year, $20-million contract with the Bucs.
JUNE 4, 2003: Bucs running back Michael Pittman pleaded guilty to felony endangerment a
fter authorities said he rammed his Hummer into his wife's Mercedes-Benz, which was carrying the couple's child, a babysitter and his wife, Melissa. Pittman pleaded guilty to one felony count of endangerment and served 14 days in an Arizona jail. Pittman also was
suspended for three games and will be fined an additional two paychecks. In 2001, Pittman was suspended for one game after two misdemeanor convictions of domestic violence.
APRIL 26, 2003: Offensive tackle Kenyatta Walker was charged with disorderly conduct after a skirmish with bouncers at an Ybor City nightclub. He was ejected from the club about 2:15 a.m. after screaming and charging at bouncers, Tampa police said.
APRIL 16, 2003: Bucs safety Dwight Smith was arrested on a felony charge of aggravated assault with a firearm after authoritie
s said Smith pointed a gun at another motorist during a road rage incident in Clearwater. On Aug. 7, 2003, the Detroit native pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of improperly display
ing a firearm during a road rage incident. Smith was fined $22,000 by the NFL for conduct detrimental to the game. Smith received a year's probation, paid a $225 fine and must take eight hours of anger management counseling and 25 hours of community service. He al
so had to turn over his 9mm semiautomatic.
NOVEMBER 2002: Former Bucs defensive end Booker Reese was arrested in early November and charged with violating probation stemming from a 1999 drug charge.
OCTOBER 2002: Bucs guard Cosey Coleman was arrested on domestic abuse charges stemming from an incident between Coleman and the mother of his 8-year-old son outside the child's day care.
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See I told you, poverty causes crime!
T.N.B.
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