Shawne Merriman of the San Diego Chargers arrested for choking Tila Tequila!
The Queen of all social media Tila Tequila called the police on her boyfriend, San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, who was arrested earlier this morning for battery and false imprisonment.
According to TMZ, Tila (real name Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen) and Shawne were out partying last night in a roped off portion of Stingaree nightclub in San Diego, where Tila was reportedly giving “Shawne lap dances all night long.” Here are some photos of the “happy” couple from Stingaree at around 1 AM this morning: (Click the photos to see the full-sized images at TMZ.com.)
The site nbcsandiego.com reports, “Sheriff’s deputies got the call at 3:45 a.m. on Sunday from a woman who claimed to have been choked and thrown to the ground by the player at his home on Sagecrest Drive in Poway.”
Spokesperson for the San Diego Sheriff Jan Caldwell tells the site, “Nguyen told deputies she had been choked and physically restrained by Merriman when she attempted to leave his residence.”
Tila called for an ambulance and was taken to a local hospital while Merriman was taken into custody and to the San Diego County jail. Bboth have since been released. Shawne Merriman’s attorney Todd Macaluso insists his client did nothing wrong and says, “During the evening Ms. Tequila was extremely intoxicated, inebriated and Mr. Merriman did everything he could to assist her in arranging for transportation to leave his home. At no time did Mr. Merriman assault her; at no time did Mr. Merriman keep her against her will. His intentions were nothing but good.”
There has been no comment from Ms. Tequila’s representatives, though I’m sure we will soon hear all about it via her twitter account. Speaking of which, here are her last two tweets just before leaving to meet with Merriman:
The NFL season officially kicks off Thursday evening with the Chargers’ first game coming Monday night, the 14th, against Oakland. Macaluso addresses the potential impact of the incident on Merriman’s football career, “He’s done absolutely nothing wrong; he looks forward to the football season. He’s ready to go and this is merely an incident that was unfortunate that should never had occurred and was a result, directly, of Ms. Tequila’s conduct and the way she conducted herself in Mr. Merriman’s home. … We are very confident this matter will be resolved without any charges being filed whatsoever.”
Here is a short video clip of Shawne Merriman leaving the San Diego County jail Sunday morning:
Tila Tequila initially became famous after appearing on the MTV reality show “A Shot at Love,” but has since been able to sustain her fame through creative marketing on social media sites like myspace and twitter. Shawne Merriman is an All-Star linebacker for the Chargers and widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in the league. He was suspended for four games in 2006 for violating the NFL’s steroid policy. He missed a large part the 2008 season after tearing a ligament in his knee and undergoing season-ending surgery.
UPDATE – Tila tweeted this around 9 PM tonight:
I have just gotten back home safely to Los Angeles. Thank you for all of your love and prayers, and I appreciate everyone’s support….