The girlfriend of former New York Jets wide receiver Terrelle Pryor has been ordered held without bail after allegedly stabbing him in their Pittsburgh apartment, according to reports.
Shalaya Briston, Pryor’s 24-year-old girlfriend of roughly one year, was ordered held by a judge on attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges after Pryor was stabbed in the chest early Saturday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Briston’s attorney, Lee Rothman, had argued that she was entitled to post bail because of her lack of a criminal record, ties to the community and current employment.
Briston was also defending herself against the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Pryor, who outweighs her by more than 80 pounds, Rothman said.
Briston’s attorney cited an affidavit in which a witness to the early morning dispute said she was “acting in self-defense,” the newspaper reports.
“When a man puts his hands on a woman, and she is in fear, she has a right to defend herself,” Rothman said. “We are entitled to bond. This is not a person who is a danger to the community.”
Deputy District Attorney Steve Stadtmiller, meanwhile, countered that the stabbing was “very close” to being a homicide.
“He almost bled to death,” Stadtmiller said. “They were able to bring him back.”
Pryor’s attorney, Stephen Colafella, said his client lost three and a half liters of blood after the stabbing. He remained hospitalized late Wednesday for stab wounds after being arraigned on a charge of simple assault, the Post-Gazette reports.
Colafella disputed Briston’s characterization that Pryor was the aggressor during the dispute. Police have said Briston and Pryor were “mutual combatants” during the incident.
“This young lady was not acting out of self-defense or any fear of injury,” Colafella told reporters during a news conference late Wednesday. “This was a situation that occurred as a result of the violent behavior and the attitudes of the women who came to his home Saturday morning.”
Witnesses told police that Pryor was stabbed at the couple’s apartment after an argument late Friday. Pryor went home, while Briston went out with two female friends to a club.
When the three women returned, Pryor grabbed Briston and starting arguing with her. The unidentified women were trying to break up the fight when Briston stabbed Pryor, police said.
Briston had a bruise on her nose and two missing fake fingernails after the incident, police said.
Pryor, who was drafted as a quarterback by the Oakland Raiders in 2011, has played for five teams during his career. The free agent last played a regular-season game in November 2018.