The lawyer representing former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore alleged in court filings that accusations against Moore were part of a “litigation strategy designed to villainize Mr. Moore” and argued that police procured Moore’s arrest warrant by “presenting false statements fabricated by the complainant’s civil attorney.”
Moore’s lawyer, Ellen Michaels, made those arguments as part of a request for an evidentiary hearing in an attempt to quash the arrest warrant and ultimately get criminal charges against her client thrown out.
Moore and Michaels appeared in court Thursday for a probable cause conference and asked a judge for more time to gather records. Moore faces charges of third-degree home invasion, a felony, and misdemeanor charges of stalking and breaking and entering related to an alleged incident that occurred Dec. 10, the day Moore was fired for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a female staff member.
The filing signals Moore’s intent to fight the criminal charges by painting the case against him as an attempt by the staffer’s employment lawyer, Heidi Sharp, to extract a large settlement from what Moore’s lawyer called the “deep pockets of the University of Michigan.” Sharp, reached Friday night, did not provide a comment to The Athletic.
Michaels argued that Moore’s arrest warrant was issued based on misleading statements from Sharp, who “assumed control of the narrative” in statements to police.
Police and prosecutors allege that after Moore’s firing, he drove to the staffer’s apartment, entered through the unlocked front door, took butter knives and kitchen scissors from a drawer and made a series of threatening statements, including threats of suicide. Moore’s lawyer contends that Sharp, who made the 911 call that alerted authorities to the incident, “characterized a mental health crisis involving self-harm as an attack” and painted Moore as “dangerous.”
Sharp told police Moore had a “long history of domestic violence” against the staff member, according to testimony from Detective Jessica Welker at a complaint authorization hearing before Moore’s arraignment. Moore’s lawyer claims Sharp later backtracked on those claims, telling police that “the historical things that happened may not meet our burden of what qualifies as abuse.”
At Moore’s Dec. 12 arraignment, prosecutor Kati Rezmierski said the staffer received numerous unwanted phone calls and text messages from Moore after attempting to break off contact with him two days before his firing. The woman disclosed her relationship with Moore to the university shortly before Moore’s firing and was preparing to leave town when Moore arrived at her apartment, Rezmierski said.
Moore’s lawyer contends that Moore’s communication with the woman was related to her responsibilities with the Michigan football program, which was in the midst of preparations for the Citrus Bowl. Michaels’ brief contains a screenshot of a text exchange — which, according to Michaels, was selected by Sharp and used as evidence of stalking. In that exchange, one party, apparently Moore, texts “Please answer” at 8:31 p.m. and “Can you call when you get a chance” the next day at 10:16 a.m.
In her motion, Michaels contends that Welker “misled the magistrate” at the complaint authorization hearing by “omitting exculpatory facts.” If granted, the motion for an evidentiary hearing would allow Moore to challenge the facts used to establish probable cause for his arrest. A hearing on that motion was set for Feb. 17, and Moore’s next probable cause conference was set for March 19.