At the time, police said a city detective had verified the alleged victim’s story. However, a sergeant with the Charlottesville Police Department clarified Tuesday that the warrant was based solely on the alleged victim’s testimony and that the department only confirmed with the magistrate that they had previously heard the alleged victim’s evidence and created a police report.

“We were just verifying that we received that information,” said Sgt. Jake Via. “My plan was to conduct an investigation, like we would in any other situation.”

Via could not verify whether Crews was the complainant, but he did state that city police did not issue the warrant and that the alleged victim “jumped the gun” by obtaining the warrant ahead of a police investigation. That notion was iterated by Merritt in his statement.

“Charges likely would have not been filed had the Charlottesville Police Department been allowed to follow the normal investigative procedures when an individual makes a criminal complaint,” the statement reads. “Instead, Mr. Crews was allowed to exploit the judicial system by bypassing CPD and presenting incomplete and misleading evidence directly to a magistrate judge who in turn issued the warrant for Mr. Harris’ arrest without a proper investigation.”