Former Steeler Okobi held for court on assault charge
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Former Pittsburgh Steeler Chukky Okobi was held for court on misdemeanor one charge of simple assault stemming from a fight at a South Side club in August following a preliminary hearing this afternoon.
The 33-year-old former backup center, whose legal name is Chukwanweze Okobi, was charged with five counts, but a district judge today dismissed four of them. Additionally, he found Blair Ferguson, one of the men involved in the fight, guilty of harassment and fined him $100.
In a criminal complaint, police said Mr. Okobi and his girlfriend, Christine Nasca, got in a yelling match at Bar Room, at 7 W. Carson Street in Station Square.
Several people said in the complaint they attempted to step between the two when he lashed out at them, punching a man in the face, a woman in the stomach and putting another man in a headlock.
But Mr. Okobi, who was part of the Steelers team that beat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL in 2006, told a different version.
In the complaint, he said he was talking with Ms. Nasca when a man shoved him and several other people joined him and "engaged him physically." At the hearing, Mr. Okobi clarified that he was not actually fighting with Ms. Nasca, but that he was venting about a business matter that had nothing to do with her.
In the complaint, Ms. Nasca confirmed her boyfriend's version of events.
First Published October 25, 2012 1:38 pm
