Brother Of NFL Players Held In Hammer Assault

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A 19-year-old District of Columbia man charged with striking a woman in the head with a hammer was ordered held without bond Saturday as police continue to investigate similarities between that assault and four similar attacks, including one homicide, in the same city neighborhood.

Michael Davis, the younger brother of NFL players Vernon and Vontae Davis, is charged with two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. He appeared Saturday in D.C. Superior Court, where he was ordered held without bond pending a preliminary hearing on May 11, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office. He's also charged in a second assault, after a man came forward Friday to report being hit.

Davis was arrested Thursday night after officers responding to a woman's cries for help in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington found him peering out from a nearby alley. During a foot chase, police say, he dropped a black bag containing a claw hammer that officers believe was used in the attack.

The 19-year-old woman told police she was walking down the street when she was approached by a muscular man and struck in the head with an object that "did not feel like someone's hand," according to charging documents made public Saturday.

A phone message left Saturday with his public defender was not immediately returned.

Police say the women suffered a serious head injury.

Davis was also charged in a separate attack that police believe occurred hours earlier. The victim in that case was a man who was walking his dog and who said he was struck from behind. The man reported the attack Friday and, that night, identified Davis as his attacker from a nine-picture photo spread, police said.

Police are exploring a possible connection between those assaults and three similar attacks in a tight radius of Petworth,
including the killing Tuesday night of a 66-year-year-old man who was visiting Washington from Colorado. In each case, police say,  the victim was struck from behind but not robbed. At least three of the five attacks seemed to involve a hammer or claw-style weapon.

Vernon Davis, who played college football at the University of Maryland, plays tight end for the San Francisco 49ers. Vontae Davis is a Miami Dolphins cornerback.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)