Phillips to Try to Identify Assailants in Photo Lineup

Witnesses to last week’s altercation between the Chargers’ Joe Phillips and three men were shown photographs of three suspects in a police photo lineup Monday.

Phillips, who was severely beaten, likely will undergo surgery later this week to repair eye and nose injuries, said Dr. Lee Rice. Phillips probably will be shown the photo line-up Thursday, said Sgt. Pete Munholand.

The 315-pound nose tackle blacked out during the beating but told police that he can probably identify the men involved in the incident.

Police expect to complete their investigation and submit the findings by Friday to the district attorney’s office, which will decide if charges will be filed against the three suspects, Munholand said. Possible charges include assault with great bodily harm.

Phillips was discharged from the hospital Friday and told police he wanted to press charges against his attackers, Munholand said.

Police refused to release the results of Monday’s photo lineup in which the three witnesses were shown three sets of six photographs, each set containing a photo of one of the suspects.

“It only took a few minutes . . . and all three (witnesses) are cooperating fully,” Munholand said.

A photo lineup is standard procedure in such cases, and a lineup in which suspects appear in person is not used unless witnesses have trouble identifying a suspect from photographs and they request an in-person lineup, Munholand said. None of the witnesses requested an in-person lineup, he added.

The three men, all local construction workers, voluntarily submitted to police questioning Friday regarding the Sept. 26 incident outside Saska’s restaurant and bar in Mission Beach.

Police said the men were not arrested because they were cooperating with investigators and their attorneys promised the suspects would appear in court if charged in the incident.

The men’s names have not been released. Munholand refused to discuss whether they acknowledged or denied participating in the altercation.

Phillips suffered a concussion, fractured nose, fractured bone around his eye, bruised ribs, cuts and bruises.

The Chargers placed the starting nose tackle on the reserve/non-football injury list. He missed Sunday’s game and is expected to be sidelined another nine weeks.

At least three people witnessed the early morning altercation, which followed a verbal exchange between three men and Phillips and a female friend, police said. The incident lasted between three and five minutes before the men fled.

Phillips on Friday said it was an unprovoked attack. His female friend was knocked down but not seriously hurt, police said.

Witness accounts have varied, but one person recorded the car’s license plate and police traced and impounded a red Toyota the next day in the Mesa College area, prompting the three men to surrender for police questioning. The witness has identified as the car, which one of the men borrowed from a friend, said Munholand.

Phillips had been drinking before the incident but he did not appear drunk and was not given a blood alcohol test, the sergeant said.

The three suspects are in their early 20s and weigh about 210, 190 and 170 pounds, respectively. Phillips, at 6-feet-5, 315 pounds, is considered the strongest player on the Charger squad.