The lawyers for Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Kiante Tripp are confident that burglary and possession of a firearm charges brought this week against their client will be dropped.
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"While an incident did occur that Mr. Tripp was present at the scene of an alleged crime, Mr. Tripp's involvement was in a substantially diminished degree from that which was reported," Tripp's lawyers said Friday in a statement to Scout.com. "Though charged with burglary and possession of a weapon, Mr. Tripp never entered the residence of the alleged victim and the allegations of a weapon being involved are totally unsubstantiated speculation."
Tripp, along with two others, were accused of beating on a door and threatening to "shoot up" the place if they were not allowed in. They reportedly "tossed up the residence looking for money."
"According to the reporting officer narrative, there was no forced entry by any member of the party, Mr. Tripp was found outside, complied with all of the officers' requests, and despite the authorities searching all alleged assailants and surrounding area, there was no weapon of any kind recovered.
"Kiante is not a bad person, has never been in any trouble, and allowed himself to be in a place where he should not have been. He realizes the severity of his mistake, and apologizes sincerely for any negative light cast upon the Browns organization and is confident that all charges will be dropped."