Yahoo Sports 
Washington State DB Shalom Luani will not be charged with assault
Just over a month after Washington State’s Shalom Luani was arrested for an alleged assault outside a Domino’s Pizza, it was announced Monday that the safety would not be formally charged.
Per the Seattle Times, Whitman County (Wash.) prosecutor Denis Tracy went against the recommendation of the Pullman Police Department, which, after an investigation, concluded that charges should be filed.
Luani, a senior starter for the Cougars, was accused of breaking a man’s nose in an altercation. Tracy said there was evidence to support the claim that Luani hit the man, but not enough to prove Luani did not act in self defense.
From the Times:
The victim, a man named Kyle Medina, was named in a letter Tracy wrote and released to the press on Monday, announcing his decision. In his letter, Tracy wrote that there was enough evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Luani hit Medina once, with a fist to the nose.
However, Tracy noted, “in order to prove that a criminal assault happened, the prosecutor must not only prove that the suspect hit someone, but the prosecutor must also prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect was not acting in self defense.”
“In this case, it is my view that no reasonable jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Luani was not acting in self defense,” Tracy wrote.
When news of the arrest first emerged, police said Luani became aggressive when his pizza order took too long, but WSU coach Mike Leach has said throughout the ordeal that there was more to the story.
From the Times:
Days after the incident occurred, Leach told reporters he had reason to believe that Luani was jumped by at least six men when he left the Domino’s Pizza restaurant that night. Pullman Police commander Chris Tennant originally told reporters that Luani got belligerent in the pizza place because he was upset his pizza order was taking too long, and he shoved the victim’s head into the door on his way out of the restaurant, before punching the victim once outside.
However, Tracy’s review of the investigation appeared to corroborate Leach’s assertion that Luani might have been ambushed outside the restaurant. It also showed that Medina might have started the altercation in the restaurant.
“The reports and video show that there was pushing and pulling back and forth inside the pizza place, with the physical contact between Mr. Medina and Mr. Luani being started by Mr. Medina,” Tracy wrote. “It concluded with Mr. Luani pushing Mr. Medina in the face, while Mr. Medina pulls his head back, and while Mr. Luani is walking away. Although there does appear to be some physical contact in that push, Mr. Medina is not injured in any way. Mr. Medina quickly follows Mr. Luani outside and is in turn quickly followed by a number of other young men. Mr. Medina and the other young men confront Mr. Luani outside.”
There is no footage of what happened outside of the restaurant, but Tracy wrote that several witnesses said Luani was hit “multiple times” and was also “pushed to the ground” and “possibly had his head pushed into a parked car.”
Luani was held out of WSU’s first game after the arrest but played and started in the last two. Overall, he has seven tackles and two interceptions on the season. Luani started all 13 games in 2015 and had 90 tackles after transferring to Wazzu from the junior college level.
The Cougars, 1-2, are coming off a bye and host Oregon on Saturday.
For more Washington State news, visit WazzouWatch.com.
– – – – – – –
Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
