Jon Jones charged with assault and interference with communications
UFC heavyweight Jon Jones champion has been formally charged with assault and interference with communications stemming from an incident involving a drug-testing agent earlier this year.
The agent filed a police report about the UFC fighter’s alleged behavior during a sample collection at his resident on March 30.
Both charges are considered misdemeanors and if convicted Jones could face jail time that would total less than one year, as well as a $500 fine for the petty misdemeanor charge of assault and up to $1,000 for the misdemeanor of interfering with communications.
Crystal Martinez, the agent who was identified after filing the complaint, claimed Jones “appeared agitated” after he was unable to provide a urine sample and was offered the opportunity for a blood test instead.
Martinez claimed Jones then began asking them questions including “if they had money” because he was going to sue them. She also claimed that Jones allegedly grabbed her phone and “started recording them.”
The agent claimed that she feared Jones would strike her.
“I was recently visited by testers while I was celebrating a birthday and taking a nap,” Jones later said in a statement. “Upon waking up, I was caught off guard by the unprofessionalism and protocol by one of the testers, which caused frustration leading me to use some profanity I regret. However, I want to emphasize that at no point did I threaten, get in anyone’s face, raise my voice to anyone, or engage in any form of assault.
“It’s unfortunate that false news has been spread without proper fact-checking. I want to assure you that I will vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations. The truth is, the incident simply did not occur.”
A virtual bond hearing is scheduled on July 17 at 9:15 a.m. MT in New Mexico.
