CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Cavaliers swingman Kevin Porter Jr., who was arrested Sunday in Mahoning County on suspicion of possessing a gun and marijuana, was accused of punching a woman in the face and ripping off her weave during an August fight in downtown Cleveland, according to police reports.
Cleveland police told the two women involved in the fight that they would need to follow up with the city prosecutor’s office if they wanted to press charges against Porter and his sister. Porter has not been charged as of Tuesday.
Porter drove away before police could interview him the night of the incident, police reports say.
Porter’s attorney Alex Spiro released a statement on Tuesday that said: “There is no truth to this allegation which is why the allegation has led nowhere.” Cavs spokesman Tad Carper did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The incident happened just after midnight on Aug. 16 at the Stone Block apartment building on West Lakeside Avenue and West 6th Street in the Warehouse District, according to police reports.
The two women involved in the fight and two other witnesses gave police the same version of events, according to police reports.
The women were in an apartment on the sixth floor of the building when Porter’s sister and a 26-year-old woman “exchanged words,” police reports say. Porter’s sister, who is not named in the police report, punched the woman in the face, according to police.
The woman’s 19-year-old friend told police that Porter ripped out her hair weave and punched her on the left side of her face, according to police. A witness told police the punch knocked the woman against a refrigerator.
Another man, whose name police did not know at the time of the report, jumped into the fight and “threw around” the 19-year-old woman, according to police reports.
Both women told police they left the building, called police and waited outside for officers to arrive.
Officers noted that the 19-year-old woman had light swelling on the left side of her face and that the 26-year-old woman had a broken nail and a lump on her forehead. Both declined to be checked out by Cleveland EMS.
Officers wrote in the report that they tried to access the apartment building to question more witnesses, but they were unable to get inside.
Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers arrested Porter about 2 a.m. Sunday after he crashed his car on Interstate 76 near Ohio 534 in Milton Township. Troopers said driver fatigue likely contributed to the crash and that Porter was not suspected of being impaired.
Troopers reported finding a loaded .45-caliber handgun and suspected marijuana inside the car. He was booked into the Mahoning County Jail and released on a $4,000 bond.
Porter was charged in Mahoning County Court No. 4 in Austintown with fourth-degree felony improperly handling a gun in a motor vehicle, first-degree misdemeanor drug abuse and traffic citations for failure to control and driving without a valid license.
He pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges and entered no plea on the felony charge. A future court date has not yet been set.
Porter averaged 10 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game last year, his rookie season. He was a first-round draft pick in 2019 out of the University of Southern California.
Read more from cleveland.com:
Ohio State Highway Patrol releases more details on Kevin Porter Jr.’s arrest in Mahoning County
Kevin Porter Jr. arrested early Sunday morning in Mahoning County, faces gun charge
Judge tosses out key evidence in case of Erie men accused of rioting downtown May 30
