The legal representative for Jon Jones has expressed strong disapproval regarding the decision by the Albuquerque Police Department to file a criminal charge against the former UFC champion in connection with a hit-and-run incident that occurred in February.
Christopher Dodd, who also represented Jones during a separate investigation involving an accusation of assaulting a drug testing agent, issued a statement to the media fiercely disputing the most recent charge against his client. Jones was charged with a misdemeanor for leaving the scene of an accident after a woman involved in a car crash—who police noted showed “signs of significant intoxication and lacking clothing from the waist down”—claimed he was operating her vehicle during the collision but then fled on foot.
“As Jon’s lawyer, I am stunned by the Albuquerque Police Department’s decision to charge him in this new case,” Dodd said in his statement. “In the thousands of cases I have handled in my career, I have never seen a case as strange and unwarranted as this one.”
“Jon was not driving that night; he wasn’t in the car. 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.”
According to a report from the Albuquerque Police obtained by MMA Fighting, Jones told authorities that the woman involved in the accident had been at his residence earlier that evening where they consumed alcoholic drinks together. He stated that she eventually left his home while intoxicated and later contacted him to inform him about the crash.
The woman involved in the accident claimed that she had expressed hesitation about drinking with Jones, citing past incidents where she alleged he had compelled her to drive home while intoxicated. She also claimed that Jones assured her this time would be different, and they consumed alcohol and mushrooms together.
An incident in the restroom allegedly necessitated the woman removing her pants with the intention that Jones would drive her home to get different clothing. She informed police that the last person she recalled driving her vehicle before the accident was Jones and stated she had no other memory of the evening`s events.
Police acquired Jones` phone records, which showed his device was located in the vicinity where the woman claimed to have been drinking with the UFC fighter prior to the accident. Police noted a gap in Jones` phone records from 10:51 P.M. until 2:11 A.M., at which point his device was detected in the area of northeast heights in Albuquerque.
At 2:11 A.M., police say the woman attempted to call Jones, but he did not answer. Between 2:17 A.M. and 11:34 A.M. the following morning, Jones called the woman 13 times.
Police stated that body camera footage also revealed Jones texting the woman repeatedly alongside his phone calls, but the content of the messages was not available from the call records.
The period where Jones` phone records have a gap coincides with the timing of the traffic accident. Police stated that based on the available evidence, he “cannot be excluded from the scene,” leading to charges being filed against him.
Jones` next court appearance is scheduled for July 24.
This latest criminal complaint against Jones was made public shortly after UFC CEO Dana White announced that Jones was retiring from the sport and vacating his heavyweight title following a decision not to pursue a potential fight against interim champion Tom Aspinall. White later told MMA Fighting that he was unaware of any pending criminal complaint against Jones until the morning after, while flying home from Azerbaijan where the UFC had hosted an event.
