Bucs

Pittman charged with two felony assaults

Prosecutors in Arizona plan to ask a judge to revoke the running back's probation.

TAMPA - Bucs running back Michael Pittman might be headed to jail instead of practice by next week.

Pittman was charged Wednesday with two felony counts of aggravated assault against his wife, Melissa, and a babysitter after police said he rammed his Hummer into a Mercedes-Benz carrying the two women and his 2-year-old son.

If convicted, Pittman could be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of five to 15 years for each count, a Class 3 felony.

But Pittman could land behind bars for violating his probation.

After reviewing a Phoenix police report, Tempe, Ariz., city prosecutor Robert Hubbard said Wednesday he plans to ask a municipal court judge to revoke the probation Pittman is serving for two misdemeanor convictions of domestic violence against his wife in July 2001.

If his three-year probation is revoked, Pittman could spend up to six months in prison awaiting trial on the felony charges.

"We're reviewing the police report," Hubbard said. "But undoubtedly, we will file a petition to revoke that probation."

In a criminal complaint filed in Arizona Superior Court, Maricopa County prosecutors alleged Pittman, 27, used his vehicle as a "deadly weapon or dangerous instrument" and "intentionally, knowingly or recklessly caused physical injury" to his wife and Kristina Hegland, 18, during a domestic dispute May 31.

Pittman attended his second workout Wednesday and left One Buc Place without comment.

But in a sworn statement to police, Pittman said Melissa was responsible for the accident when the car she was driving struck his vehicle, which he said was not moving at the time.

Prosecutors who reviewed the evidence, including statements to police by Melissa and Hegland, said they believe Pittman deliberately crashed his Hummer into the passenger side of his wife's car, pushing it onto a curb with enough force to blow out the front tire.

The Bucs had no comment. General manager Rich McKay is on vacation and not expected to return to work until next week.

By then, Pittman could be jailed for violating probation.

Pittman, who was suspended for one game in 2001 while playing for Arizona for the two arrests for domestic abuse, could face harsher sanctions from the league for violating a conduct policy.

The charges filed Wednesday means Pittman will be subjected to mandatory management counseling. The Bucs said they will wait until the legal system runs its course.

But if Pittman is jailed, they will be left with few options. The Bucs could release him, move him to a reserve list or keep him on the active roster.

His absence will have an effect on the Bucs' chances to repeat as world champions. Pittman, who led the Bucs in rushing last season, carried 29 times for 124 yards in Tampa Bay's 48-21 victory against the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Pittman was arrested Saturday on suspicion of six felony counts, three of aggravated assault and three of reckless endangerment. But prosecutors did not file the endangerment charges and determined Pittman did not intend to injure his son, Mycah, a passenger in the car Melissa was driving.

The argument began when Pittman was confronted by his wife, who said he had an extramarital affair. Melissa gave birth to the couple's second child, a girl, Mykava, on May 11.

No one was seriously hurt in the incident.

Pittman is the third Buc to be arrested during this offseason.

Cornerback Dwight Smith faces a third-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a firearm after pointing a gun at another motorist in Clearwater on April 16.

Ten days later, offensive tackle Kenyatta Walker was charged with disorderly conduct after a skirmish with bouncers at an Ybor City nightclub.

"It's a cause of frustration, and I'm very much disappointed in these alleged incidents," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said Tuesday. "At the same time, you have to get the information as fact. What is fiction and what is fact? I've heard reports that Kenyatta was involved in a battery. My understanding is it was a shouting contest and disturbing the peace.

"But it doesn't matter. I don't like seeing our players in that light at all. I'm disturbed by it."

Today's lineup