SALT LAKE CITY — The live-in girlfriend of Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson was arrested in a domestic dispute after authorities say she bit the 6-foot-10, 265-pound player.
Shirley Lewis was booked into Salt Lake County jail late Thursday, records show. She was later released. Prosecutors were reviewing possible separate charges against Jefferson, Cottonwood Heights police Sgt. Dan Bartlett said Friday. Jefferson, 26, and Lewis, 38, were having an argument at about 8:45 p.m. Thursday “when she hit him and bit him on the back” in front of her two children, according to a police report. It offered no other details. Lewis, who was described in jail records as 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds, was booked on one charge of domestic assault and a second charge of domestic violence in the presence of a child, both misdemeanors. It wasn’t clear if Lewis had an attorney, and she has no listed phone number. Jefferson’s agent didn’t return a message Friday, and Jazz spokeswoman Linda Luchetti said the team had no information. “It’s a personal issue regarding a player, and our focus is on basketball. We don’t comment on players’ personal lives,” she said. Jefferson started all 82 games last season and led the team in scoring with 18.6 points a game. He was due to show up for the opening of Jazz training camp Friday afternoon. Police said they responded to a call from Jefferson’s mansion in the Salt Lake suburb of Cottonwood Heights. Bartlett wouldn’t reveal who made the call but said police officers are obligated under Utah law to make at least one arrest in a domestic dispute that turns physical. Cottonwood Heights prosecutor Mark Eddy didn’t return a message Friday. AP Sports Writer Lynn DeBruin contributed to this report.
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