Jon Jones is cleared of criminal charges stemming from a car accident in February, according to TMZ. The State of New Mexico dropped misdemeanor charges against Jones, stating the UFC star’s credible alibi defense.
Police charged Jones in June with leaving the scene of a traffic accident. Police subsequently charged him with “use of telephone to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend.” The state filed a Nolle Prosequi (dismissal) Friday in the case against Jones. MMA Fighting senior reporter Damon Martin published a snippet of the court document.
“After further investigation, the State has reason to believe the defendant’s alibi defense is credible,” the document reads.
“The State, therefore, dismisses the matter.”
Albuquerque police responded to reports of a crash in February when they approached a woman in the passenger seat of one of the involved cars. The woman said Jones drove the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. She called Jones, and police noted that the man on the line — who did not answer direct questions regarding his identity — “appeared to be heavily intoxicated and made statements implying his capacity to employ lethal force through third parties.”
Jones’ legal team issued a statement after Friday’s ruling, published by Sportsnet reporter Aaron Bronsteter.
“We have been fully vindicated,” Christopher Dodd, Jones’s attorney, wrote. “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.”
The recent incident involving Jones made headlines right around when UFC CEO Dana White announced Jones’ retirement. Jones vacated the UFC heavyweight championship after a proposed fight with then-interim champion Tom Aspinall fell through. Jones later re-entered UFC’s drug testing pool in hopes of competing at the promotion’s White House event, but White said there’s a billion-to-one chance that matchmakers book Jones on the card.
