Jon Jones cleared as criminal charges against UFC star dropped

Jon Jones has been 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 alibi defense was credible.

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 published a statement on Tuesday thanking the district attorney’s office for vindicating him and calling for accountability from the Albuquerque Police Department.

“I want to begin by thanking the district attorney’s office for carefully reviewing the facts and ultimately vindicating me completely,” Jones wrote. “I have always believed in the importance of truth and fairness, and I am grateful that the evidence spoke for itself. The simple fact is this: I was never there. I never even left my house that night, and all the evidence proved that. 

“In this case, there was a rush to judgment before any real evidence was gathered. I understand that, in the court of public opinion, the allegations may have seemed believable, especially given my past mistakes. But by the time these claims were made public, I had just retired from competition, and that moment was stolen from me by someone who made false accusations to avoid a DWI and any real accountability. 

“I sincerely hope that this individual is held responsible by Albuquerque’s law enforcement. They not only disrupted my retirement but also made our police department appear negligent in the process. It is deeply troubling that, in today’s world, a single false accusation can take so much away from someone before any evidence is even considered.”

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.