Jon Jones facing new criminal charge amid retirement from UFC
Jon Jones is facing new legal trouble after charges were filed against him in New Mexico, according to reports, with the news emerging around the same time as his much-talked-about UFC retirement.
The 37-year-old announced his retirement on Saturday night, just hours after Dana White told reporters that Jones had called him on Friday to confirm he was leaving the company for good.
Taking to social media, Jones said the decision to retire "comes after a lot of reflection". He added: "I’ve faced incredible highs and some tough lows, but every challenge has taught me something valuable and made me stronger, both as a fighter and as a person."
Around that time, the Albuquerque Journal reported that Jones is facing a criminal summons over a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
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Court records obtained by MMA Fighting also show he was charged on June 17 for leaving the scene of an accident (no great bodily harm or death) — a misdemeanor — but the date of the alleged incident is actually listed as February 24.
As per the Albuquerque Journal, the charges stem from a car accident where a woman was found in the front passenger seat of one of the vehicles involved and she was “exhibiting signs of significant intoxication and lacking clothing from the waist down.”
The woman reportedly said Jones was the driver, but fled the scene on foot.
She then called Jones and a police service aide spoke to the man on the other end of the call, believed to be Jones, who appeared "heavily intoxicated and made statements implying his capacity to employ lethal force through third parties."
A police officer then spoke to Jones and the former UFC champion allegedly made “allusions to violence” but never answered directly when asked to identify himself.
Police say they interviewed Jones in person a few days later, and he claimed the woman found in the car had left his house earlier in the day intoxicated.
Jones claimed she called him after getting in the crash, and the person she handed the phone to “immediately opened the conversations with unprofessional language, which led him to doubt the legitimacy of the individual’s claim.”
The woman later told police she drank alcohol and consumed mushrooms at Jones' house and recalled needing to change her clothes at his house and "her next recollection was being at the scene of a traffic accident."
She said the last person she remembered driving her car was Jones, the court record indicated.
The police report also states Jones called the woman’s phone a total of 13 times from the time of the crash until the next morning, and he also sent her text messages as well.
The Albuquerque Journal also report that the criminal summons accusing Jones of the misdemeanor charge in February was filed on Tuesday June 17 in Metropolitan Court. Jones, meanwhile, has been called to appear for a bond arraignment on July 24.
It is unclear why the charge against Jones wasn't filed until months after the incident.
Jack Kenmare