Former 49er in court on domestic violence charges

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- A former San Francisco 49er and Oakland Raiders player appeared in court Monday for a pretrial conference on domestic violence charges. 30-year-old Kwame Harris is accused of assaulting his former boyfriend last August at a Menlo Park restaurant.

The felony domestic charges stem from last year when Harris and his already then ex-boyfriend Dimitri Geier were at the restaurant. A verbal argument started after Harris spilled some soy sauce. The argument then continued outside where Harris tried to pull down Geier's pants and accused him of stealing his underwear.

Harris' attorney says the brawl was started by Geier who threw the first punch, although Geier was the one who ended up with the broken bones.

Former 49er and Raider Harris is 6'7" and 240 pounds, Geier is 6'1" and about 220 pounds.

The former NFL player's attorney says Harris was the one arrested, only because Geier ended up injured, and that he is just looking for money.

Harris could have settled this criminal and another civil case brought by Geier, but Harris is fighting both cases instead.

"It is very curious that shortly after the charges were filed, he filed a civil lawsuit," Harris' attorney said. "And that leads us to believe that he doesn't even want to wait until the criminal process is over to file the lawsuit."

We spoke with Geier's Los Angeles-based attorney over the phone. He says that it's sad his client is being depicted as the aggressor here. He says his client was brutally attacked -- the bones in his eye socket broken, requiring a plate, surgeries and more surgeries ahead. He notes that his client didn't start the fight, that Geier just took a swing to get away from Harris. The attorney says Geier just wants to be compensated for the medical bills related to those injuries.

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menlo park, san francisco 49ers, oakland raiders, crime, domestic violence, food, nfl, heather ishimaru

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