Misdemeanor charges against Jon Jones dismissed, lawyer releases statement
Former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Jon Jones will no longer head to a bench trail for misdemeanor charges accusing the fighter of leaving the scene of an accident in New Mexico earlier this year.
“We have been fully vindicated,” said Jones’ attorney Christopher Dodd in a statement. “From the very beginning, we explained that a woman made a false allegation against Jon in an effort to avoid being arrested for DWI, and unfortunately, the police accepted that claim without properly weighing the facts. Once the relevant documents were finally disclosed by the police department, Jon’s cell phone records made it undeniably clear that he was nowhere near the scene of the crash. We are grateful that the district attorney’s office took the time to conduct a full and fair review of this case, which ultimately confirmed Jon’s innocence. At the same time, it is deeply troubling that such critical evidence was disregarded, forcing Jon to endure this ordeal unnecessarily. Our investigation into how this occurred remains ongoing.”
In February, Jones was charged after a woman involved in a car crash claimed he was the driver and that he fled after the accident occurred. According to the police report, the woman appeared to be intoxicated and was partially clothed. Jones and his legal team denied his involvement.
“Jon was not driving that night; he wasn’t in the car,” Dodd said. “It appears that an intoxicated woman used a false allegation against Jon to avoid being arrested for DWI, and the police fell for it. Based on the criminal complaint, it looks like they went so far as to seek a warrant for Jon’s cell phone records while conducting a misdemeanor traffic investigation. I have never heard of such a thing.
“It is truly unbelievable that the police would waste this amount of resources on such a case. The only thing I can think of is that the police were targeting Jon for improper purposes. We will get to the bottom of it and make sure that this baseless case is dismissed.”
The former two-division UFC champion was scheduled for a bench trial appearance Tuesday afternoon in New Mexico, but the state filed a Nolle Prosequi this past Friday, meaning the case has been officially dismissed.
“Nolle Prosequi comes now, the State of New Mexico and hereby dismisses this matter,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Joshua D. Boone said in a statement. “After further investigation, the State has reason to believe the defendant’s alibi defense is credible. The State therefore dismisses this matter.”
