Editor’s note: This story contains language that some may find offensive.
Lawyers for LSU football players Ryan Perrilloux and Derrick Odom III received access Tuesday to a Varsity Theatre surveillance tape from the altercation that took place early Friday morning. Anthony Bertucci, who represents Odom, said the footage does not incriminate his client. He said the tape is about two hours long and has no audio. Varsity bouncers can be distinguished from club patrons because they are wearing yellow, Bertucci said. “You can’t identify any faces in the video,” he said. “You see about 20 to 30 people in the fight.” Bertucci also said he could not identify Perrilloux in the tape. Nathan Fisher, who represents Perrilloux, said he reviewed about fifteen minutes of footage with his client. Fisher said he “absolutely did not see any guns” in the video. “The video was grainy and very difficult to see,” he said. “[Perrilloux] assisted me in picking himself out of the video. I think the video was clear in showing that while he was outside in the parking lot, he was attacked by some people.” Cpl. L’Jean McKneely from the Baton Rouge Police Department said the department could not comment on the tape. “It’s still an ongoing investigation,” McKneely said. Sports Information Director Michael Bonnette said he was fairly certain that coach Les Miles had not yet seen the surveillance tape. Bonnette also said Perrilloux and Odom did not practice for the second day in a row. Their practice status for the rest of the week will depend on the result of BRPD’s investigation, Bonnette said. The Daily Reveille reported Saturday night that Odom posted comments on his public Facebook.com account that morning that could possibly be related to the fight. Odom’s profile page has since been deleted. “Derrick is sayin the fight dont end til u die BITCH,” he apparently posted Saturday at 8:02 a.m. Odom updated his page minutes later with another message. “Derrick is trippin on how these fools try to run up on u behind ya back when they know they cant fuck wit u 1 on 1 but he got something that will shut all that shit down,” he apparently wrote at 8:05 a.m. Bertucci denied that Odom wrote the comments and said he did not know who could have access to Odom’s password-protected Facebook account. “He didn’t write that,” Bertucci said. “You’d have to be out of your mind to write that. You’d have to be a psychopath to write that.” Dean of Students K.C. White said the University is relying on the proper investigative agencies to share any information related to the Facebook comments. White said if the investigation shows there is a violation of the University’s Code of Student Conduct, there could potentially be a judicial hearing. “You have to be really careful when examining Facebook comments,” White said. “You have to consider if the comments are directed at an individual or if there are the means to carry out a threat.” White said it is also crucial to determine who actually posted the comments. She said the University relies on the police authorities’ ability to check Internet Protocol addresses, which can track Internet activities to a certain computer.
—-Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]