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Kansas City Chiefs fans may never find closure after the 37-31 overtime loss to the New England Patriots in January’s AFC Championship game, but Kansas City police have at least closed a case that stems from that game.
In the days after the game, a story emerged that a Chiefs fan had apparently shined a laser light from the Arrowhead seats into the face of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady — an incident that was missed during the telecast but was caught by sideline videographers.
Here's what our photographer shot at Sunday's AFC Title game in KC. #Patriots QB Tom Brady targeted by a green laser in 4th against the #Chiefs.
— Raul Martinez (@RaulNBCBoston) January 23, 2019
Bill Belichick was asked about it.
"Yeah, right now we’re really focused on getting ready for the Rams,so that’s what I’m working on." pic.twitter.com/5yRC7Ta04z
Two weeks later, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that the fan had been “identified, apprehended, banned from Arrowhead Stadium for life and soon will face charges from the Kansas City district attorney.”
At the time, the identity of the fan accused in the incident was unknown, which led to speculation that the person involved was a juvenile.
But now we know that is not the case. On Tuesday, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced that a Lee’s Summit, Missouri resident — 64-year-old Dwyan Morgan — had been cited in the incident. Charged with disturbing the peace, he now faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $1000. He is scheduled to appear in Jackson County Municipal Court on July 17.
According to reporting from the Kansas City Star, police did not receive reports about Morgan’s alleged involvement the day of the game, and prosecutors didn’t say what ultimately led them to charge Morgan.
However, a source with the Chiefs said the team used videotape and eyewitnesses to identify the culprit after William Joy of KMBC Channel 9 first shared footage of a green light being directed at Brady.
According to the Boston Herald, the Chiefs pushed for a big penalty.
The Kansas City Police Department initially wanted to cite the fan with disorderly conduct, but officials with the Chiefs wanted the authorities to bring down the hammer with tougher penalties to deter others from getting any bright ideas.
And that brings us back to where we started with this story:
The message has been sent out to the fan base: don’t shine lasers on anyone — including the opposing team’s starting quarterback.