Dallas police want to question a Dallas Cowboys player in connection with a murder last month in Old East Dallas, multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Dallas Morning News.
Cornerback Kelvin Joseph was involved in a disturbance outside a bar on the 3600 block of Greenville Avenue at Martel Avenue on March 18, the same night Cameron Ray, 20, was fatally shot, according to multiple sources. Ray was shot and killed outside the OT Tavern around 2am and taken to a hospital where he died.
Cowboys officials have encouraged Joseph to speak to police about what he knows, according to a team source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Cowboys officials do not believe Joseph is the shooter.
The Cowboys declined to comment Thursday night. Joseph’s attorney also declined to comment.
Joseph, also known by the rapper alias “YKDV Bossman Fat,” was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft following his college career at LSU and Kentucky.
Video footage shown by KDFW-TV (FOX4) earlier this week shows a man in a hoodie and what appears to be a YKDV necklace standing in the bar with a group. The same group was later caught on another video getting into a fight with Ray and some others at the intersection of Greenville and Martel.
After the fight ends, Ray and his friends walk across the parking lot and someone opens fire on them from a passing vehicle, footage shows.
Ray was in Dallas with three friends for a weekend of fun, Detective Tonya McDaniel told FOX4 earlier this week. He and his friends are not responsible for the disturbance and police have been working to identify the group seen at the bar, including the man with the necklace, McDaniel told the station.
This is the first known criminal investigation of a Dallas Cowboys player since Josh Brent, a former lineman who was sentenced to 10 years probation in 2014 for his 2012 drunk car accident that left his best friend and teammate Jerry Brown Jr life came. Another former cowboy, Dwayne Goodrich, served six years in prison after killing two men, Demont Matthews and Joseph Wood, in a hit-and-run accident in 2003.
This is the latest of several offseason troubles for the Dallas Cowboys. A woman is suing Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, saying she is his daughter. Jones claimed she blackmailed him, which her attorneys denied. A multi-million dollar settlement with the team’s cheerleaders after allegations of voyeurism came to light, and a lawsuit over a videotape of a sexual encounter with one of Jones’ sons.
Joseph’s selection last April drew some attention in the league. At the time, a general manager of an AFC team told The News that Joseph had resigned from his team’s board of directors over concerns off the field. A second NFL scout said Joseph failed multiple drug tests in college.
Joseph was suspended from the Fiesta Bowl in early 2019 while at LSU before moving to Kentucky.
Cornerback was an important position for the Cowboys in 2021.
After Byron Jones and Chidobe Awuzie departed last year, they targeted former South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn or former Alabama cornerback Pat Surtain II for the No. 10 overall pick. Both players were drafted 8th and 9th, respectively, so Dallas traded back and selected linebacker Micah Parsons for 12th overall.
Parsons was the ranking defenseman on the Cowboys draft board and was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. The team picked Joseph with their next pick.
Playing sparingly as a rookie, Joseph appeared in just 14 defensive snaps while mostly appearing on special teams in the first 14 games. He started in two of the last three of the regular season and finished the year with 16 tackles, one forced fumble and two passes defended.
The Cowboys own the No. 24 pick overall in the 2022 draft, which will take place April 28-30.
Staff Writer Calvin Watkins contributed to this report.