An ex-NFL player allegedly picked up his wife, threw her on the couch, pinned her down and left bruises on the woman’s neck, Gwinnett authorities said.
And when officials tried to arrest Carl Pickens this week, he hid in the attic of his Sugarloaf Club Drive home before he ultimately surrendered to deputies, according to an incident report from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department.
Pickens’ arrest Sunday on a misdemeanor battery charge came nearly one month after he allegedly attacked his wife on Dec. 7, 2013, at the couple’s Duluth home.
That night, they went to the movies with one of his wife’s friends. When the trio returned to the couple’s home and the friend left, Pickens and his wife began to argue about why her “friend went to the movie with them,” according to another report from the Gwinnett County Police Department.
At some point, Pickens allegedly picked up his wife, threw her on the couch, pinned her down by holding her neck and pushed her into the crevice of the couch, according to the police report. When he released his grip, Pickens allegedly threw an iPad at a wall, stepped on the screen and broke it. He left the house in his Cadillac Escalade before police arrived, but not before he allegedly threw a chair, authorities said.
Once police got to the home, they found Pickens’ wife with bruise marks on the left side of her neck, according to the report.
Fast forward to Sunday. Deputies went to the couple’s home to serve Pickens. He and his wife allegedly ignored deputies’ instructions to come to the door, and Pickens hid in his attic, according to the sheriff’s report.
Once inside the home, deputies asked Pickens to exit the attic and he complied, authorities said. Deputies arrested Pickens and took him to the Gwinnett County jail.
He was released Monday on a $2,000 bond, according to online jail records.
Pickens spent nine seasons in the NFL, most of them with the Cincinnati Bengals. He last played in 2000 with the Tennessee Titans.
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