Highly touted Pitt freshman basketball player Dior Johnson is facing numerous charges for an incident that took place on the evening of Sept. 5 and the morning of Sept. 6, 2022, in the 3400 block of Forbes Avenue, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Post-Gazette.
Johnson was arrested Friday, according to an updated version of the police report.
The complaint states that Johnson, 18, is facing charges of aggravated assault, strangulation, unlawful restraint, simple assault and false imprisonment.
Johnson has been indefinitely suspended from all team activities pending the resolution of legal charges filed against him, according to a press release from Pitt athletics.
“The Pitt Athletic Department, which became aware of the charges Friday afternoon, will decline further comment until the legal process has reached a resolution,” the release said.
The victim reported Johnson first became angry with her after getting his phone wet. Johnson allegedly slapped the victim across the face “full force,” causing her face to become “very red and puffy.”
Johnson allegedly took the victim’s phone and refused to return it to her after the assault. Johnson allegedly left the apartment around midnight and came back at 4 a.m. when he then returned her phone.
A few hours later, at 8:30 a.m., the complaint continues, Johnson started a verbal argument with the victim that continued to escalate. The victim claims she wanted to leave but Johnson wouldn’t allow her to do so. The argument continued for an hour before Johnson allegedly became violent and repeatedly punched the victim in her arms, stomach and head multiple times.
The victim says she then called 911 in fear for her life, but Johnson ran after her with scissors, took the phone, hung it up and threw it. Johnson allegedly then grabbed her head and pushed it into the bed making it hard for her to breathe.
According to the complaint, Johnson then started cutting himself with the scissors, slashing his left arm multiple times to make himself bleed “really badly” in an attempt to make the victim be viewed as the aggressor.
“I’ll make them think you did this,” the complaint alleges Johnson said.
The victim provided authorities with a screenshot of a phone call, which showed a call to 911 at 9:20 a.m. on Sept. 6. Johnson allegedly continued to hit the victim multiple times in the arms, head and stomach, making her throw up twice.
The complaint claims Johnson attempted to call off from basketball practice out of fear the victim would leave his apartment. Johnson would eventually leave for practice, which is when the victim says she gathered her things and left the apartment.
The victim provided detectives via email with a copy of her medical discharge report from the hospital. She received medical treatment for multiple bruises and a concussion.
Medical staff also took photos of the bruising on her body. Photos show bruising on the victim’s left and right arms, scratches on her neck, bruising on her left collarbone, left shoulder and chest and a broken finger nail.
Johnson is a 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Kingston, N.Y., who committed to Pitt as a four-star recruit in June. ESPN had Johnson ranked as the No. 35 player in the country for the class of 2022. The freshman is Pitt’s highest-rated recruit under head coach Jeff Capel.
Reports show Johnson was with the team Friday afternoon at practice.
First Published: October 8, 2022, 1:22 a.m.
