SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Charles Omenihu was arrested Monday afternoon on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence after police were called to his San Jose home, police said.
Omenihu, 25, was booked at the Santa Clara County jail and then released after posting bail, according to San Jose police.
Officers were called to Omenihu’s home in the 300 block of Santana Row at 4:39 p.m. for a report of domestic violence. A woman told arriving officers that Omenihu is her boyfriend and that he “pushed her to the ground during an argument.”
A police news release stated that the woman complained of arm pain but that “officers did not observe any visible physical injuries,” and that she declined medical attention.
Omenihu, who was still at the location when officers arrived, gave a statement to police and was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence. Police also obtained an emergency protective order and served it to Omenihu, who was required to stay away from the woman while the order is in effect.
Authorities said the results of an ongoing investigation will be presented to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for evaluation of possible charges. No additional details were released. Because the alleged offense is a misdemeanor, and Omenihu is out of custody, there is no strict deadline for when charges would have to be filed.
Omenihu has been a key reserve for the 49ers, who are headed to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. In a statement Tuesday morning, the team said, “We are aware of the matter involving Charles Omenihu and are in the process of gathering further information.”
A 2019 fifth-round draft pick by the Texans, Omenihu is making $2.5 million this season and is slated to become a free agent in March for the first time in his career.
His arrest adds to a lengthy list of domestic and gender violence cases involving 49ers players over the past decade. Most recently and perhaps most famously, former star linebacker Reuben Foster was released from the team during the 2018 season after a domestic violence arrest in Tampa involving his girlfriend, who was at the heart of separate domestic violence charges against him in Santa Clara County earlier in the year that were dismissed after she recanted her allegations, then afterward said that they were legitimate.
Former defensive lineman Ray McDonald was at the center of domestic violence and sexual assault allegations in San Jose that had the added controversy of a San Jose police sergeant, moonlighting as private security for the 49ers, being the first to respond to a 2014 emergency call to McDonald’s home. The conflict muddled the ensuing rape investigation, and McDonald ultimately saw a grand jury indictment dismissed after his accuser declined to testify at trial, citing exhaustion with the court process. McDonald was released by the 49ers in late 2014 after a domestic violence arrest involving his ex-girlfriend and infant child.
In 2015, fullback Bruce Miller pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge involving an argument with his girlfriend in a Santa Clara parking garage. But Miller was cut from the team a year later hours after his arrest in San Francisco on suspicion of beating a 70-year-old man with a cane in a drunken assault at a Fisherman’s Wharf hotel. Cornerback Tremaine Brock was released by the team in 2017 a day after his domestic violence arrest in Santa Clara.
