A former star running back for the University of Utah football team is facing more legal trouble.
But a motion filed by his defense attorneys asking for his release from the Salt Lake County Jail paints a different picture of what happened, claiming a probable cause statement filed in the case isn't accurate.
In April, Tavion Shavial Thomas, 23, was charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping in the course of committing unlawful detention and two counts of aggravated assault, third-degree felonies.
Thomas is accused of pulling a knife on his live-in girlfriend during an argument in March and then not allowing her to leave their apartment or call police, according to charging documents.
"You'll be dead before the police arrive. I will take your car and drive it all the way to Dayton," Thomas allegedly told the woman while still holding a knife, the charges state.
On Thursday, Thomas' charges were amended to also include unlawful use of a financial card without consent, a third-degree felony; and two counts of unlawfully possessing another person's identification, class A misdemeanors.
According to the amended charges, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office conducted a follow-up investigation on April 11, and served a search warrant on Thomas' apartment. Investigators found a debit card and two IDs belonging to a woman who was previously in a relationship with Thomas, the charges state.
In January, the woman said she was involved in a domestic violence incident with Thomas while the two were in Florida, according to police.
"(She) stated the local police department assisted her in getting her belongings from Thomas. (She) reported she searched her items and discovered her IDs and debit card were missing," according to the charges.
Also on Thursday, Thomas was charged in a separate case with four counts of violating the conditions of his jail release agreement, a third-degree felony.
The jail release agreement, which essentially serves as a protective order, was served on Thomas on April 5, though Thomas was not actually released from jail.
"The jail release agreement prohibits the defendant from contacting or communicating with (the victim)," the new charges state. However, between April 6-9, Thomas made more than 21 calls to the woman, police said.
Also on Thursday, a motion was filed by Thomas' attorneys asking for conditions to be set to allow for his release from jail pending trial.
The motion states that Thomas had a close family member pass away in September. And on Nov. 7, "Mr. Thomas suffered a significant concussion. Medical records state, 'on a kick-off the athlete (Thomas) hit a player, (and) over the next quarter of the game he felt worse. By the fourth quarter he was vomiting, had nausea and went to the ER and underwent a CT scan.'"
"Mr. Thomas has previously been diagnosed as bipolar but has for the most part successfully managed his mental health through medication up until recently before the alleged incident," the motion continues while noting that Thomas continues to receive support from his agent and a mentor, and would have their support if released.
The motion also questions what really happened regarding the incident for which Thomas was arrested and charged.
It notes that during a court hearing for Thomas on April 11, the alleged victim "stated among other things that she was not in fear of Mr. Thomas and did not fear for her safety. She also stated a pre-trial protective order was not necessary."
The motion also addresses the allegations written in the police booking affidavit, and charging documents filed in 3rd District Court, that Thomas threatened the woman.
"The probable cause statement relies heavily on the allegation that Mr. Thomas threatened her with a knife and threatened to kill her. However, while the officers wrote that in their reports and the probable cause statement, she retracted that statement in a subsequent interview. She clearly states that Mr. Thomas simply said, 'I will take your car and drive it to Dayton,'" the motion states. "Additionally, in the lethality statement she circled 'No' that she had never been threatened with a weapon."
Defense attorneys also state in their motion that Thomas was cutting fruit with a knife and still had it in his hand when the couple began arguing.
"She stated that he never threatened her with the knife, pointed the knife at her, or made any threatening statements to her. She stated that she felt free to leave at any time and had no fears that he would hurt her," the motion states.
The motion concludes by stating that the woman has allegedly repeatedly stated that the officers who responded to the apartment on April 5 "did not listen to what she was saying," and when she read the probable cause statement she stated, "that is not what happened and that is not what I said."
"Law enforcement, by their own admission, 'skipped a few steps' in the investigation conducted on the night of the incident. Most importantly, their own reports do not (conform) with the statements by the alleged victim," according to the motion.
Thomas' next court hearing to consider his motion for release is scheduled for Friday morning.