FOCUS: BILLS STAR UNDER INVESTIGATION
Battle lines are drawn on Lynch
Truth is goal as officer goes to stadium in bid to end players’ silence about facts of hit-run
By Dan Herbeck and Gene Warner
Updated: 06/12/08 6:42 AM

James P. McCoy/Buffalo News
3:30 a. m. hit-and-run A vehicle owned by Bills running back Marshawn Lynch, above, struck a woman crossing Delaware Avenue on May 31 and left the scene. Authorities are investigating. More Photos

A nasty confrontation is shaping up at Ralph Wilson Stadium today, but it won’t be the kind of clash that football fans might expect.

Lining up on one side are star running back Marshawn Lynch and at least three other Buffalo Bills players who are believed to have information about the hit-and-run accident involving Lynch’s sport utility vehicle and a pedestrian in the city’s Chippewa Entertainment District.

On the other side are investigators for the Buffalo police and Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark, who are frustrated over their dealings with the Bills players.

Police say they have received no cooperation from Lynch and little cooperation from his teammates in their probe of the accident that injured a 27-year-old Ontario woman who was struck while crossing the street at West Chippewa Street and Delaware Avenue on May 31.

Buffalo Police Officer Allan A. Kasprzak will go to the stadium in Orchard Park this afternoon and try to question three or more Bills players about the night of the accident, authorities said.

“I expect [Bills players] to be cooperative and truthful,” Clark said. “If I get any indication that they are anything less than cooperative and truthful, I will go to the grand jury, which will compel them to testify.”

That could cause trouble — not only for Lynch, but for any other Bills player who is less than truthful.

“If a witness lies to a police officer, that’s one thing. If they lie to a grand jury, that’s a criminal offense,” said one official close to the case. “If the witnesses in this case don’t start to cooperate, the [grand jury] subpoenas are coming out.”

Police said a grand jury probe would turn what is normally a routine police matter into a confrontational, high-profile inquiry that could last for weeks, even months.

Prosecutors can compel a person to testify before a grand jury, but only if they give the person immunity from prosecution for the crime in question.

Even if a person is given immunity from prosecution, that person can still be charged with perjury for any lie told to the grand jury, prosecutors said.

Kasprzak, the hit-and-run accident investigator for the Buffalo police, was not allowed by his department to comment. But informed sources said the officer called both the Bills organization and the National Football League security office earlier this week, complaining about alleged “stonewalling” by some of the players.

As of late Wednesday, no charges had been filed in the case, and Lynch, 22, one of the NFL’s top rookies last season, still had not spoken to police.

Lynch’s attorney, Michael P. Caffery, took issue with the idea that he and his client haven’t cooperated with authorities.

“I’ve had two conferences with the district attorney’s office and several phone calls with the Buffalo police,” Caffery said. “As far as I’m concerned, we’ve cooperated.”

Lynch participated in Wednesday’s minicamp practice at the stadium but said “no comment” when approached by reporters afterward.

How would the Bills organization react to investigators trying to interview other players?

“We have cooperated fully with authorities and will continue to cooperate, if asked,” said Scott A. Berchtold, the Bills’ vice president for communications.

Problems with police

Police told The Buffalo News that Lynch has no arrest record in New York State and has a clean driving record in the state.

But some police officers in Buffalo and Hamburg are not surprised to hear that Lynch is having legal difficulties.

Lynch was tossed out of two Chippewa Street bars in recent months because he brought in his own bottle of liquor, which is illegal under state alcohol laws, according to three law enforcement officials.

“[Buffalo police] have been told by bar owners that he’ll walk in, order a glass of pop and pour his own liquor into it,” one officer said. “He was told that you can’t do that, and it doesn’t matter if you’re Marshawn Lynch.”

Law enforcement officials in the Southtowns said Lynch attended a meeting several months ago with three high-ranking members of the Town of Hamburg police. At least one member of Lynch’s family and a Bills security official also attended.

The meeting was arranged after Lynch complained that police were being tough on him and his family, said a police official who works closely with that department.

“From what I understand, it was a case of ‘Let’s clear the air here,’ ” the source said. “They thought the police were picking on them.”

Town police impounded a vehicle that Lynch had been using and lent to a relative. Authorities said the vehicle was impounded after that relative was arrested for violating a vehicle and traffic law.

After the impoundment, Lynch went to Police Headquarters to reclaim the vehicle, but police wouldn’t give it to him, because it actually belonged to a local car dealer.

Lynch had a disagreement with some police personnel over the release of the vehicle, apparently prompting the clear-the-air meeting, sources said.

In addition, Orchard Park police investigated one minor incident, last Dec. 13, near the end of the Bills’ season. A vehicle apparently driven by Lynch struck a pole outside Ralph Wilson Stadium. Police responded, but no charges were filed, according to Orchard Park police records.

Town of Hamburg police have dealt with Lynch and his family on mostly minor matters, usually involving vehicle and traffic laws.

That is why one law enforcement official was not surprised to hear about the latest incident involving Lynch’s vehicle.

“God, no, I wasn’t surprised at all,” the source said. “It follows a pattern. It’s the kind of stuff he’s been doing. He’s just so cavalier about everything. That was always my impression.”

‘Sense of frustration’

These are some of the factors that police are evaluating as they continue to investigate Lynch and the hit-and-run on Chippewa:

Kelly Shpeley, 27, of Milton, Ont., was crossing Delaware toward the Spot Coffee shop when Lynch’s Porsche SUV struck her. The vehicle had been parked on Chippewa, facing west.

The victim was wearing dark clothing, officers said. A hard rain was falling, and road conditions were slippery. Police said the woman had the right of way.

“As [Shpeley] crossed the road, another woman was walking in front of her. The woman in front of Shpeley was kind of dancing and singing in the street . . . like ‘Singin’ in the Rain.’ That could have distracted whoever was driving Marshawn’s car,” a law enforcement official said.

Lynch’s vehicle — moving quickly but apparently below the speed limit — turned left onto Delaware and struck Shpeley, the official said.

“The driver never stopped, just kept moving south on Delaware,” the official said. “It could very well be that the driver never saw [Shpeley] and didn’t know he hit her.”

Shpeley suffered two large bruises near the hip and was treated in Buffalo General Hospital, where she received seven stitches.

After the accident, police impounded Lynch’s SUV, which they found parked outside the football star’s $560,000 home in the Town of Hamburg. Officers said no one answered the door of the house when they tried to speak with Lynch.

Authorities said investigators from three Buffalo police units — Kasprzak’s unit, the Central District detectives and the General Investigations Unit — are now working on the case. Detectives have been in Lynch’s neighborhood, questioning neighbors, and in the Chippewa district, questioning workers and patrons.

Clark has said his office is considering a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an injury accident.

Buffalo police said they would like to quickly resolve the case, which was the 893rd hit-and- run report filed in the city this year. Most such cases involve property damage only.

“There is a sense of frustration,” Buffalo police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said.

“I think the department would have liked to have seen this resolved in a day or two. These incidents are often resolved very quickly, but if people will not cooperate, that is different.”