News

Actions

FSU Running Back Dalvin Cook Found Not Guilty of Punching a Woman Outside of Bar

Dalvin Cook - Mug
Posted at 8:04 PM, Aug 24, 2015
and last updated 2015-08-25 15:16:19-04

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The latest in the trial of Florida State running back Dalvin Cook, accused of punching a woman in the face outside a bar (all times local):

7:44 p.m.

Florida State running back Dalvin Cook has been found not guilty of punching a woman in the face outside a downtown bar.

A jury reached the verdict Monday after a one day trial.

The alleged victim testified that Cook became angry after she shoved a teammate and after she told him and the group he was with that she wasn't impressed that they were football players.

Three of Cook's teammates and a Florida State graduate student who stopped to watch Madison Geohegan and her friend argue with a group of players all said Cook never hit the woman during the June 23 incident.

Cook led the team in rushing with 1,008 yards as a freshman last year and was second on the team with eight touchdowns.

___

7:20 p.m.

The attorney for Florida State running back Dalvin Cook has told a jury in closing arguments that the evidence and testimony "just didn't add up" to support a charge that his client punched a woman outside a bar.

The attorney said Monday that alleged victim Madison Geohegan was drunk the night of the June 23 witness and the only other witness who said Cook punched her was the woman's friend. He contended the friend was even more drunk.

But prosecutor Sarah Dugan said what doesn't make sense is why the woman would make the story up.

She said the three teammates who said Cook never punched Geohegan gave inconsistent stories to police. And she pointed out that Cook said he remembers a girl arguing with some guys outside the downtown bar, but he denied his teammates were involved.

The teammates testified that they were arguing with the woman.

__

4:30 p.m.

Three teammates of Florida State running back Dalvin Cook said the player never punched a woman outside a downtown bar.

Da'Vante Phillips, Travis Rudolph and Deondre Francois all testified Monday that Cook tried to calm the woman down, but he never touched her. They said Madison Geohegan was drunk and angry and punched Rudolph in the back of the head during the argument.

Cook is being tried on a charge of misdemeanor battery.

Rudolph said that Geohegan was making fun of his clothes and calling him poor. He said he replied that in a few years he'd have more money than she'd ever have.

Prosecutor Sarah Dugan tried to point out that their testimony conflicted with statements the players gave to police after the June 23 incident.

___

1:15 p.m.

The woman who is accusing Florida State running back Dalvin Cook of punching her in the face outside a bar has finished her testimony as the first witness in Cook's trial on misdemeanor battery charges.

Madison Geohegan admitted Monday that she was drinking before the June 23 incident but says she clearly remembers the confrontation with Cook.

She says she didn't know his name that night, but the she saw him at another bar three days later and he smirked at her. She says she and the friend she was with the night Geohegan was punched later looked at another player's Instagram account and spotted a photo of Cook, which they shared with police.

Police then showed Geohegan a lineup of six photos. It contained Cook's driver license photo and those of five others that look similar to him. She immediately pointed out Cook and told officers she was 100 percent certain it was the man who hit him. The trial will continue with other witness Monday afternoon.

___

11:20 a.m

A woman says Florida State running back Dalvin Cook boasted that he would be able to buy her when he signs a professional football contract just before he punched her in the face outside a bar.

Cook's trial on misdemeanor battery charges began Monday. Madison Geohegan says the incident happened while she was arguing with a group of football players, one of whom called her a whore.

The 21-year-old woman says Cook initially tried to calm the situation but became angry after she pushed one of his friends. She says Cook shouted that he could buy her in two years and yelled, "Google me!"

Cook's lawyer told the jury in opening statements that he never hit the woman during the June 23 incident. He is suspended from the team until the outcome of the trial.

Geohegan says the punch split her lip. She began crying when a prosecutor showed her photos of her injuries that night.

___

9:45 a.m.

The trial for suspended Florida State running back Dalvin Cook on charges that he punched a woman in the face outside a downtown bar has begun.

The incident happened in June, and Cook's lawyer requested a speedy trial. It began Monday morning and is expected to last a day.

Cook is charged with misdemeanor battery. He who ran for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman in 2014.

The 20-year-old Miami native has been suspended indefinitely from the team pending the outcome of the case.

A witness told police that a group of football players began arguing with the alleged victim after one suggested taking her home and having sex and she refused.

Florida State opens the season Sept. 5 against Texas State.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

8/24/2015 7:50:33 PM (GMT -4:00)