Former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has two vital courtroom dates upcoming associated to the identical case after he was accused of leaving the scene of an accident again in February.
Court docket information present Jones is scheduled for a bench trial on Aug. 14 based mostly on the cost of leaving the scene of an accident, which is a misdemeanor. The second bench trial is scheduled for Sept. 2, and that’s additionally based mostly on a cost for leaving the scene of an accident together with a secondary cost for Use of Phone to Terrify, Intimidate, Threaten, Harass, Annoy or Offend — one other misdemeanor.
Whereas each circumstances are associated to the identical incident, the second case was filed later, with the extra cost being introduced towards Jones. His legal professional, Christopher Dodd, filed a movement to dismiss the second case because of the duplicate costs towards the UFC heavyweight, however the decide has not but dominated on it.
Till then, a bench trial is about for Sept. 2 with Jones anticipated to seem just about alongside his legal professional.
Your complete state of affairs stems from a automotive accident that occurred again in February after police responded to a crash the place a girl was discovered within the passenger seat, “exhibiting indicators of serious intoxication and missing clothes from the waist down.”
The girl claimed that Jones was driving her car on the time of the accident and “subsequently fled the scene on foot.” Calls had been positioned to Jones with a police service aide stating he “seemed to be closely intoxicated and made statements implying his capability to make use of deadly power by way of third events.”
The unique police report acknowledged that the individual on the cellphone refused to acknowledge it was Jones however when authorities received involved with him at a later date, he claimed the individual talking to him on the decision “instantly opened the dialog with unprofessional language” and that pressured him to query the legitimacy of the caller’s declare to be concerned with regulation enforcement.
That interplay is what in the end led to the second cost being filed towards Jones.
Simply after that second case was filed with the extra cost, Jones’ legal professional filed a movement to dismiss.
“The incidents at concern in each circumstances are one and the identical. Mr. Jones now could be pressured to defend himself towards two separate circumstances includes the very same factual allegations,” Dodd wrote in his argument. “It’s unknown why an [Albuquerque Police Department] detective and an [Albuquerque Police Department] officer who had been each concerned within the investigation of this case wouldn’t talk and coordinate who would file costs however that appears to be what occurred, until the reality is that these regulation enforcement officers deliberately violated the identical obligatory joinder rule for some improper strategic function.,
“Both method, the outcome is similar; this case must be dismissed as Mr. Jones has been impermissibly charged twice for a similar underlying incident.”
As a result of the decide has not dominated on the movement, Jones is scheduled to seem just about on the second bench trial scheduled on Sept. 2.
Thought to be arguably the best fighter of all time, Jones’ profession has been marred by authorized points, together with a number of arrests over time. Again in June, Jones introduced his retirement from the game whereas additionally relinquishing the UFC heavyweight title, however his hiatus was short-lived after stating that he was getting again into the UFC’s anti-doping program with hopes of competing on the deliberate card on the White Home in 2026.
