Former NFL Player and Radio Host Arrested on Strangulation and Other Charges After Incident Involving His Own Son
A former offensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts is facing multiple charges after an incident with his son.
Joe Staysniak was arrested for domestic battery and pointing a firearm, as well as intimidation and strangulation, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Staysniak played six seasons in the NFL, including three with the Colts. After he left the NFL, he became a radio personality and hosted “The Fan Morning Show” until 2021.
In a probable cause affidavit, Staysniak’s son said he had been sitting in a car with his boyfriend in front of his family’s home when his father approached the car, according to NBC.
Staysniak opened the rear passenger door and “grabbed [the boyfriend’s] hood and was choking him,” the affidavit said.
The son claimed his father “then punched him, causing his lip to bleed and then punched” his boyfriend. The affidavit said the responding officer saw blood on the son’s lower lip.
The son said Staysniak brandished a gun and told them “that they’re lucky he saw who it was,” the affidavit said.
The boyfriend said Staysniak “flashed a gun” and “had it against the side of his face at one point during the incident,” the affidavit said.
Staysniak told a different story. He said a neighbor told him there was a suspicious car in front of his house, so he went to investigate. When he saw who it was, he banned the boyfriend from returning to his property.
Staysniak said his son “came after him,” so he used an “open hand” to push his son backward. The former athlete said he and his son “got into it” and that “[his son] tried to attack him” until Staysniak’s wife separated them, according to the affidavit.
Staysniak told police that “he did have his handgun on him” but “denied touching [the boyfriend] with it or pointing it at any person,” the document said.
In its reporting, the Star said that according to the affidavit, Staysniak said his gun was in the glovebox of his car, and the police found a revolver there.
According to WXIN, the affidavit said Staysniak pulled the other individual in the car by his hoodie “to get his attention.”
Attorney Guy A. Relford, who is representing Staysniak, posted a statement on Facebook saying there needed to be “clarifications regarding the incident.”
“The situation arose when a neighbor contacted Joe at a late hour to report two suspicious vehicles parked in the woods near the Staysniak home and Joe went to investigate. He discovered his adult son and a friend in one of the vehicles,” Relford said.
“The details of what then transpired will come out in the courtroom, but we are completely confident that Joe’s actions will be conclusively determined to be legal and justified under the circumstances.”
Despite media reports, Relford said in the statement that Staysniak was only charged with “two misdemeanor counts of ‘battery causing physical injury'” and one strangulation charge. He also said in the statement that Staysniak was not accused of any illegal use of a firearm.
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