Florida stalking case dismissed against ex-UM star Roscoe Parrish, two years after arrest

Two years after former University of Miami football standout Roscoe Parrish was accused of stalking and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend, prosecutors have dropped the criminal case against him.

The Broward State Attorney’s this week dropped felony charges of aggravated stalking and writing threats.

“The charges should never have been filed,” defense attorney Andrew Rier said. “It should not have taken two years — between the pandemic and multiple prosecutors being assigned to the case — for the case to have been dismissed.”

According to a Broward State Attorney’s Office memo, prosecutors could not proceed to trial because the woman had said “she wants the case to be dropped” and did not show up to court for trial, despite a subpoena.

“Without the victim’s cooperation, the State could not prove any elements of the charges, any of the facts alleged, or that the defendant wrote any of those notes,” Assistant State Attorney Claudiu Handaric wrote.

Police initially alleged that Parrish began harassing his ex-girlfriend and her daughter after their 11-year relationship ended in July 2018. According to an arrest warrant, the ex blocked Parrish, who is not the child’s father, on all forms of communication, but began receiving hand-written notes from him at her apartment in July 2019.

“You b---- haha I found you, from your ex,” one note read. Another note read “Ima kill your stupid a-- daughter.”

A security guard at her Miramar apartment complex told police she recognized Parrish as having tried to gain access into the building. Parrish was arrested in August 2019.

But Rier said that there were no eyewitnesses to Parrish actually leaving the notes and the guard admitted the former NFL player may have been at the complex on a different date, not when any of the notes were left.

Parrish also agreed to provide a handwriting to prosecutors, Rier said. According to the state, a handwriting analysis was never completed because the girlfriend did not want to testify at trial.

A Miami native, Parrish starred at Miami Senior High before playing at UM in the early 2000s. The Buffalo Bills selected the speedy wide receiver and kick returner in the second round of the 2005 draft. He retired in 2012 after seven injury-plagued seasons with the Bills and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As a receiver, Parrish’s career was limited. He only gained 1,502 career receiving yards. He made his mark on kickoff and punt returns, racking up almost 2,700 combined return yards.

Parrish’s current gig: Training his son, Roscoe Parrish III, who is a wide receiver at Iowa Western Community College.

This story was originally published August 3, 2022 at 10:21 AM.