Jon Jones pleads guilty to second DWI, receives punishment
Jon Jones reaches deal
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has reached a deal with prosecutors less than a week after he was arrested on a second DWI charge in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Early last Thursday morning Jones was arrested and charged with aggravated DWI, negligent use of a firearm, possession of open container and driving without proof of insurance. He was later released from custody with was set to have a first court appearance on April 8 in Albuquerque.
Today, the youngest champion in UFC history, reached a plea, eight days ahead of schedule, that includes four days of house arrest and one year of probation.
In addition to his house arrest and probation, Jones may be required to wear an ankle monitor during his house arrest, complete 48 hours of community service, pay a $500 fine, complete a 90-day drug treatment outpatient program, and install an ignition interlock device in his car, per the agreement obtained by MMA Fighting.
Officers initially responded to gunshots and they found Jones in the driver’s seat of his vehicle. He claimed he didn’t know anything about the gunshots fired.
Officers noticed that Jones seemed intoxicated and he admitted to the police that he had been driving earlier that night and that he was intending to drive again.
Jones submitted to sobriety tests and performed poorly on all of them. Following the sobriety tests, Jones took a breathalyzer test in which the results returned at or above twice the legal limit.
Jones was arrested and following the arrest a black handgun was found underneath the driver’s seat along with a bottle of Recuerdo behind the passenger’s seat.
Due to the coronavirus, the UFC champion is permitted to attend the outpatient program via “telemedicine treatment.” Jones is also permitted to carry a medical marijuana card. In exchange for his guilty plea, the firearm, open container and insurance charges will be dropped. A judge will have to sign off on the plea agreement to make it official.
The punishments reflect Jones’ desire to quickly resolve the matter and the unique circumstances faced by the court during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a prepared statement by Bernalillo County District Attorney spokeperson Michael Patrick.
”Jones took responsibility for his actions early on in the case, and in doing so, the state agreed to one year (of) supervised probation,” Patrick wrote. “Normally, the state would be requesting a pre-sentencing report and a recommendation to substance recovery court, however, due to COVID-19 it is not clear the program can accept anyone at this time.
”It is also the reason that we are agreeing to the four days on (community custody program) with 90 days for turn-in (the metropolitan jail just reported a new case of COVID-19). Jones is still required to complete a minimum of 90 day out-patient treatment, maximum fines and fees, community service and all other requirements of reporting to probation. His attorney and Mr. Jones have been made aware that if he fails to do this, the State will seek to impose the balance of any jail time without regard for any exceptional circumstances.”
