Shawne Merriman was arrested early Sunday morning after reportedly choking his girlfriend Tila Tequila Nguyen, and holding her prisoner in his home. The San Diego Chargers linebacker was taken into custody after the glamour model telephoned the San Diego Sheriff’s Department at 3:45 a.m.
According to Lt. Gary Steadman, Tila Tequila Nguyen, 27, signed a citizen’s arrest warrant, claiming the suspect choked her and then threw her to the ground when she tried to leave. Merriman has been charged with battery and false imprisonment and bail has been set at $58,000.
According to TMZ, the couple partied earlier in the evening at Stingaree nightclub before returning to Shawne’s Poway home, north of San Diego. Tila, a reality television personality, called police and reported that when she tried to leave Merriman’s apartment, he started choking her and held her captive. Law enforcement officials transported her to an area hospital where she was treated and later released.
Tequila is best known for her show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila that ran two seasons on MTV.
A lawyer for the NFL player denied all charges, saying that his client’s girlfriend was “extremely inebriated” as well as a “compulsive liar”, and he was simply trying to stop her from leaving because he felt she was in no shape to do so safely.
The San Diego Chargers released a statement: “It’s disappointing to hear about the issue involving Shawn Merriman. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and let the legal process run its course.”
View more photos and video below.
Photos: FayesVision-WENN