DALLAS — A police report provides additional details about what led up to the alleged assault at Lit Kitchen and Lounge earlier this week in which police suspect Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice.
The report alleges a suspect assaulted a man around 2 a.m. on May 6 after asking him to come back to Lit Kitchen and Lounge in the 600 block of Harwood Street under the premise of hiring him to take photos.
The photographer had been at the nightclub for an after-hours party around 1:30 a.m. and had left, according to the report. Then, at about 1:56 a.m., the suspect messaged the photographer on Instagram asking him to return to the club, the report states.
When the photographer got back to the club, he found the suspect, the suspect asked him to look at his phone, and as the photographer was looking down at the phone, the suspect punched the photographer on the side of the face, the police report states.
The suspect’s name is redacted in the police report, but police sources have told WFAA that Rice is under investigation in connection with the incident.
Last month, Rice turned himself in to police in connection to his involvement in a multi-vehicle crash on U.S. 75 in Dallas in late March.
Records show that, after Dallas Police announced Rice would face charges for his involvement in that crash, Rice turned himself in to the Glenn Heights Police Department and was taken to the DeSoto Jail, where his bond was set at $40,000.
His attorney, state Sen. Royce West, issued a statement after Rice turned himself in, saying that, "Mr. Rashee Rice turned himself in today and was released on bond. I want to re-emphasis Mr. Rice's continued cooperation with law enforcement. Mr. Rice acknowledges his actions and feels deeply for those injured as a result of this accident. Our legal team is now tasked with reviewing all legal documents."
Rice, 23, faces eight charges in that case – six counts of collision involving bodily injury, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury, and one count of aggravated assault, according to the warrant. All of the charges are felonies.
Collision involving injury carries a penalty of imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for not more than five years or confinement in the county jail for not more than one year, a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both.
Collision involving serious bodily injury – a third-degree felony – carries a punishment of imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of not more than 10 years or less than 2 years. Aggravated assault – a second-degree felony – is punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Rice, who went to SMU before getting drafted by the Chiefs, grew up in North Richland Hills in Tarrant County. Chiefs coach Andy Reid has said that, as the legal process plays out, Rice would participate virtually in the team's voluntary offseason program that began earlier this month.
