Puka Nacua's alleged biting incident gets update from city attorney
Charges still have not yet been filed against Puka Nacua for his alleged biting incident, though that could still change.
There’s a chance Puka Nacua could avoid charges for his alleged biting incident on New Year’s Eve. According to USA TODAY , the legal matter has been assigned for a City Attorney hearing. Deputy Director of Communications for the City Attorney’s Office Ivor Pine told USA TODAY that charges have not been filed against Nacua at this time, but the case “stays open throughout the length of the statute of limitations.
Additionally, Pine says a pretrial diversion is “available to eligible individuals as an alternative to misdemeanor criminal prosecution,” potentially keeping this matter from going to trial. Here’s more from USA TODAY’s story, including a statement from the woman’s representative. "We feel validated that the city attorney is proceeding with its charge for battery to a hearing,'' Joseph Kar, who is representing the woman, said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports.
"This dispels the false narrative Mr. Nacua and his crisis team tried to push to the press before Mr. Nacua entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility.
Those city attorney proceedings are not a formal criminal filing but have very serious implications for an accused defendant, especially for a famous football player in the prime of his career such as Makea 'Puka' Nacua. " It was not immediately clear if Nacua is eligible for pretrial diversion and what the specific criminal charges might be. The City Attorney handles only misdemeanors.