Former Louisville basketball player Robbie Valentine arrested, charged with strangulation
A member of the Louisville men’s basketball team that won the 1986 national championship has been charged with strangulation after a Thursday night arrest.
Robbie Valentine, 59, is accused of choking his girlfriend during an argument at their home, according to a Louisville Metro Police arrest citation. He pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance Friday morning.
In the arrest citation, police said Valentine’s girlfriend discussed the idea of moving out while the couple was at dinner Thursday night. When they returned home, the citation said an argument ensued, and Valentine took his girlfriend’s phone and “dumped her purse out in the sink.”
“(Valentine) later threw her off the bed and began strangling her,” the citation says. “The victim has pain/redness to the sides of her neck and bruising to the back of her neck.”
Alcohol was listed on the report as having been involved in the incident.
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Valentine was first charged with second-degree strangulation, a Class D felony, but according to online court documents, the charge was amended to first degree (a Class C felony) during an arraignment hearing Friday morning.
A $25,000 bond was set, and Valentine on Friday paid the required 10% ($2,500), court documents state. Valentine was ordered to have no contact with the accuser. He is next due in court Feb. 20.