New criminal charges have been filed against recently retired UFC fighter Jon Jones. The charges result from a February car accident.
A second case was filed against Jones in New Mexico on June 30, according to online records and court statements obtained by MMA Fighting. Jones is again accused of leaving the scene of an accident, but also charged with “Use of Telephone to Terrify, Intimidate, Threaten, Harass, Annoy or Offend.”
The alleged incident occurred on February 21, according to the original police report. Jones, a former two-division UFC champion, was accused of leaving the scene after police responded to a crash involving two vehicles. A woman in the passenger seat displayed signs of heavy intoxication and was not properly clothed.
The woman stated that Jones was driving and fled the scene on foot. She allegedly called Jones, connecting him with a police service aide. Jones “appeared to be heavily intoxicated and made statements implying his ability to employ lethal force through third parties.”
An officer arrived at the scene and had a separate conversation with Jones. Similar “allusions to violence” were made, though the person on the line evaded questions about his identity.
Jones later told police that the person who called him “immediately opened the conversation with unprofessional language,” which led him to question the call’s legitimacy. Police subsequently subpoenaed Jones’ call records, which revealed that he called the woman involved in the accident 13 times between 2:17 a.m. and 11:34 a.m. There was also a noted gap in his phone records between 11:51 p.m. and 2:11 a.m., when the accident happened.
Police charged Jones with a misdemeanor for leaving the scene of the accident. He pleaded not guilty, and a bench trial is set for August 14. An arraignment for the new complaint is scheduled for August 4. Jones’ attorney, Christopher Dodd, filed a motion to dismiss on June 9, citing duplicate charges.
“Put simply, Mr. Jones is already under prosecution for a separate case regarding the same factual allegations set forth in the criminal complaint in this matter, and it was wholly improper for this separate case to be filed,” Dodd wrote in his motion to the court. “The court should dismiss this case as it violates the mandatory joinder rule.”
Jones retired from mixed martial arts in June, vacating the UFC heavyweight championship, and abandoning the promotion’s hopes for him to unify the title with interim champion Tom Aspinall. Jones’ announcement of retirement preceded headlines about the February accident by a few hours. One month later, he hinted at a return following President Donald Trump’s suggestion for a UFC event at the White House next year.
