Ex-San Francisco 49er charged with assault of elderly man, son

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Former San Francisco 49er Bruce Miller was charged on Thursday with seven felonies including assault with a deadly weapon, described by prosecutors as a cane, in connection with a fight that sent an elderly man and the man’s son to a hospital.

Miller, 29, who was released by the National Football League team after the incident, was arrested early on Monday after he tried entering a hotel room near the city’s Fisherman’s Wharf district where a 70-year-old man was staying with his 66-year-old wife, according to San Francisco police.

The couple’s adult son was staying in the room next door and when he tried to tell Miller he had the wrong room, the 250-pound (113-kg) fullback rushed him, police said. The man’s father attempted to break up the fight and was punched, according to authorities.

Police said Miller was arrested at another hotel across the street around 2:45 a.m.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said it charged Miller with felonious assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, inflicting injury on an elder, making criminal threats, battery with serious bodily injury, and assault with a deadly weapon.

Miller and his attorney, Josh Bentley, could not be immediately reached on Thursday for comment.

The arrest came about a year and a half after Miller was arrested for domestic battery in Santa Clara, California. He was ultimately charged with misdemeanor vandalism in the case for smashing his girlfriend’s cellphone against a wall.

The San Francisco Chronicle, citing the manager of a nearby restaurant, reported that before the incident, Miller was kicked out of the dining spot for getting into a fight with patrons over a sandwich.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Cooney)