Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy on Monday declined to charge Washington State football safety Shalom Luani in connection with a fight at a Pullman Domino’s Pizza that left one man with a broken nose and Luani with a concussion. Tracy said the investigation showed that Luani probably threw the punch Aug. 24 that broke the nose of Kyle Medina, but that a jury would also probably believe that Luani was acting in self defense.

In a letter written to the man who suffered the broken nose, Medina, Tracy explained his rationale for not pursuing the case against Luani. While the injury Medina suffered would warrant a felony charge, Tracy said he had to consider other factors.

“In this case, I believe there is enough evidence from which a jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Luani hit Mr. Medina, once, with a fist to the nose, breaking the nose,” Tracy wrote. “In this case, it is my view that no reasonable jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Luani was not acting in self defense.” More here (subscription).

DFO: Looks to me as though Luani started this. How does it look to you?

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