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State drops player's charge

Authorities say Troy Hambrick's wife was uncooperative, prompting the state to drop the abuse case.

By JAMAL THALJI
Published November 10, 2005

DADE CITY - The State Attorney's Office has dropped a charge of domestic battery against former Pasco High School football star and ex-NFL running back Troy Hambrick.

A Pasco sheriff's deputy arrested Hambrick, 29, on the misdemeanor charge after authorities say he choked and scratched his wife, Tyrhonda Deshane Grant, after a Sept. 29 dispute in Lacoochee.

He was booked into the county jail using his legal name, Troy Germain Grant, then released a day later without having to post bail. A judge's order barred him from contact with his wife.

But his wife has refused to cooperate with investigators, authorities say, leaving them with no case and little choice but to drop the charges. The state's official letter of "no information" in the case was signed Monday by Assistant State Attorney Manuel Garcia.

Hambrick could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

It's an all-too common occurence in domestic violence cases, said Pasco Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll.

"Often times victims are cooperative at the initial part of the investigation when an arrest is made," he said. "But then they often change their minds when they realize a relative or spouse can go to jail.

"In this case it appears the victim was uncooperative from the beginning, so the State Attorney's Office did not want to attempt a prosecution."

The brothers Darren and Troy Hambrick helped power the Pasco High Pirates to a state football title in 1992.

But after winning Pasco County's lone football title, controversy has dogged the brothers' football and personal lives from college to the pros to their hometown.

Once, both brothers were Dallas Cowboys. But the elder brother, Darren, hasn't played in the NFL since 2002, when he was a linebacker with the Cleveland Browns. That year he was also arrested on a charge of twice cashing a check from the Carolina Panthers. Darren received probation after pleading no contest. The 30-year-old Darren is also a potential witness in the 2003 shooting death of Pasco sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison.

It was in 2003 that the younger brother Troy wed his longtime girlfriend. Then in 2004 his NFL career started its decline. He injured his foot at the end of the season while playing with the Arizona Cardinals, missed all of the team's voluntary offseason workouts this summer and was listed as physically unable to perform in training camp.

Arizona released Hambrick Aug. 22. He was back home in Lacoochee when, according to a sheriff's report, he got into an altercation with his wife.

According to the report: During a dispute, she wanted to retrieve her car when Hambrick grabbed her and choked her. She told deputies she wanted her car because she heard he was driving another woman around.

[Last modified November 10, 2005, 01:21:17]