D.A. Drops Case Brought by Woman Against Pringle

The Orange County district attorney’s office has decided not to file charges against Cal State Fullerton football star Mike Pringle, who was arrested April 11 on suspicion of assaulting a female patron in a Fullerton bar, authorities said Thursday.

Pringle, 22, a running back who was the Big West Conference offensive player of the year last season, was selected Monday by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the National Football League draft.

A 22-year-old Fullerton woman told police that as she was coming out of a restroom at the Red Onion Restaurant at 1446 N. Harbor Blvd., Pringle grabbed her and slugged her in the stomach, according to police records. Police arrested Pringle about an hour later on suspicion of misdemeanor battery.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Terri Hicks said her office decided not to press the case because a follow-up investigation found no witnesses or evidence to support the woman’s claim. The woman had no visible injuries, she said.

“It was the victim’s statement versus the defendant’s,” Hicks said. “You can’t take a case to trial like that. If it goes to trial, it becomes a credibility contest.”

Pringle could not be reached for comment Thursday. But earlier in the week he said he was confident the charges would be dropped.

Charges are still pending against Pringle in connection with an unrelated arrest a week ago on suspicion of assaulting an off-duty police officer at a Fullerton nightclub. Fullerton police investigators plan to present the results of their investigation to prosecutors Tuesday, Sgt. Danny Becerra said.

Pringle was arrested along with fellow Titan Andrew Fears, 21, on suspicion of assaulting an off-duty Pasadena policeman at the Carnivale Club at 1401 S. Lemon St. Both players were released on their own recognizance.

Police said Officer Darin McBride was tackled and kicked in the head by five or six people, most of them football players, after he tried to break up a fight between two women in the bar’s parking lot.

During the scuffle, McBride shot and wounded Titan defensive end Clarence Siler, 23. Siler was released Tuesday from UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Earlier this week, Pringle predicted that if the case went to trial, he would be found innocent. He said that he has witnesses to testify in his behalf.