Pro Football

A witness whose testimony helped acquit Denver Bronco offensive lineman Gerald Perry in an assault trial last November told a Denver newspaper he lied about the player’s involvement in the assault.

The Rocky Mountain News said Jonathan (Joe) Bell recanted his version of the incident. Bell had testified that Perry was not involved in the beating of bar patron Patrick Powell last April 13. But he said that he and Perry both punched Powell. Bell said he had accepted full blame because he and Perry feared the incident would violate Perry’s probation for soliciting a prostitute.

Bell also said he lied when he testified that Perry was drinking only “tomato juice and ginger ale” the night of the incident. Bell told the newspaper he and Perry had split a 12-pack of beer late in the afternoon and Perry had consumed about “eight or nine beers from 7 o’clock until the time of the incident (around midnight).”