The Pittsburgh Pirates fan who fell 21 feet at PNC Park has been charged with prowling at his ex-girlfriend’s home in the middle of the night — less than two weeks after he was invited back to the stadium to throw out the first pitch.
Kavan Markwood, 21, is accused of attempting to gain entry into his former flame’s and “forcefully” pounding on her front door around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to court records obtained by TribLive.
Brentwood police said they responded to the home of Kavan Markwood’s ex-girlfriend around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, after receiving a call that he was “attempting to gain entry.”
His former flame told Brentwood police that Markwood had been bombarding her phone with text messages for the last several weeks about vehicles parked in front of her home, and was suspicious that another man was with her, according to the complaint.
Police discovered Markwood inside his vehicle and down the street from the residence. Officers reportedly noticed a strong alcohol odor on his breath when they confronted him.
Markwood was charged with one misdemeanor count of loitering and prowling at nighttime.
However, the Pirates fan told TribLive on Thursday the allegations made against him were “not true at all.”
“That’s not the reason I was there,” Markwood said. “All I got to say is the devil tried to get me not once, twice, but three times this year.”
Markwood did not elaborate on why he was there, only adding that he would wait to have his day in court to clarify his reasoning for being at his ex-girlfriend’s home.
Before allegedly prowling outside his ex-girlfriend’s home, the 21-year-old was slapped with a temporary protection-from-abuse order by his ex-girlfriend on Sept. 26, according to civil court records obtained by TribLive.
Markwood’s former girlfriend requested the restraining order because he was allegedly a heavy drinker, was verbally abusive towards her, and had broken some of her possessions.
A preliminary hearing for Markwood is scheduled for Nov. 18.
In April, Markwood went viral when he plummeted 21 feet over the Clemente Wall at PNC Park during Andrew McCutchen’s double in the seventh inning.
The then 20-year-old suffered a broken neck, clavicle, back, punctured lung, and every rib in the fall.
Before his fall, Markwood celebrated the Pirates by tearing off his shirt and pouring beer over himself. His brother, Ethan Markwood, was charged with multiple counts of providing alcohol to a minor in connection with the incident, although Markwood says that the fall had nothing to do with alcohol.
The misdemeanor charge against Markwood comes after he received a hero’s welcome on Sept. 20.
The Pirates had Markwood throw the first pitch before their game against the Athletics, drawing a rousing ovation from the crowd as he sported a custom gold City Connect jersey with his name on the back.
Markwood said he still struggles with nearly losing his life from the fall.
“I had a lot of PTSD of me falling from the wall,” Markwood told the outlet.
“The only thing I can do is pray to God every single day.”
He said he remembers little from the game against the Chicago Cubs, except for walking into the stadium, grabbing his front-row seat in Section 142, and chatting with another fan.
“I was watching the game, then I woke up three or four days later,” Markwood said. “That’s the last thing I remember, until that day in the ambulance.”
