Terrelle Pryor says girlfriend accused of stabbing him should be let out of jail

Tom Davidson | Thursday, December 12, 2019 4:19 p.m.

Tom Davidson | Tribune-Review

Former NFL player Terrelle Pryor, 30, of Pittsburgh, walks outside Pittsburgh Municipal Court on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, after a hearing was postponsed stemming from charges he and his giirlfriend face from a Nov. 30 fight at their North Side apartment.

Former NFL player and Jeannette native Terrelle Pryor said Thursday that his girlfriend accused of stabbing him should be let out of jail.

Pryor, who nearly died from stab wounds Nov. 30, was in Pittsburgh Municipal Court for a hearing on charges filed against him in connection to the stabbing.

Shalaya Briston, 24, a Munhall native who lived with Pryor in an apartment on Pittsburgh’s North Side, was not in court. She remains in jail without bond and faces attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges for allegedly stabbing Pryor after what Pittsburgh police described as a tussle. The conflict left Pryor with stab wounds that nearly killed him, his attorney Stephen Colafella has said.

“Let her out,” Pryor, 30, said about Briston as he walked from court to a parking garage. “That’s all I got to say. Let her out.”

Terrelle Pryor tells @TribLIVE that the woman accused in his alleged stabbing should be released from Allegheny County Jail. https://t.co/rcyzBe5x8E pic.twitter.com/1FvKhUYsqF

— Tom Davidson (@TribDavidson) December 12, 2019

Pryor is facing charges of simple assault. He is free and is recovering from his injuries.

On Thursday, District Judge Michael Pappas granted a request from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office for a one-week continuance so the office can gather more evidence in the case.

Prelims for Shalaya Briston & Terrelle Pryor postponed 1 week at our request to allow for the gathering of additional information needed for the hearings.

— AlleghenyCountyDA (@AlleghenyCoDA) December 12, 2019

Colafella and Pittsburgh attorney Lee Rothman, who represents Briston, opposed the request and were prepared for a preliminary hearing. An investigation to support the charges should have been completed before the charges were filed, Rothman said.

“We’re here to respond to these charges,” Rothman said.

Pryor walked into court Thursday wearing a dark suit and a black fedora. He said nothing during the hearing.

Briston has been in jail since the incident. On Dec. 4, Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning said she was a threat to society when he denied a request to grant bail. Briston was not brought from jail to the courtroom for the hearing.

The judge’s decision to grant the continuance wasn’t surprising to either Rothman or Colafella, but that doesn’t mean they agreed with it.

“I have a client who’s being held in jail without bond,” Rothman said.

In light of the situation, Rothman said, it’s inexcusable for the case to be continued because more evidence is needed to proceed with a hearing. “It’s disturbing,” he said.

After Thursday’s proceedings, Rothman said he was attempting to schedule another bail hearing.

Colafella argued to move forward with the hearing because Pryor wants to move on from the incident, the attorney said. He noted the witnesses to the incident were in court and could have testified.

“We wanted to put this whole ugly mess behind us,” Colafella said.

NFL security adviser Phil Smith also was in the courtroom. He declined to comment, and Colafella wouldn’t say whether Pryor has met with league officials about the incident.

Prior was a standout at Jeannette, starred at Ohio State and played with nine NFL teams, including the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders, in an eight-year pro career. He holds free-agent status in the NFL.