The legal team representing UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has fired back at Albuquerque police following the filing of misdemeanor charges against the now retired star, calling the investigation “strange and unwarranted” and suggesting their client was targeted unfairly.
Christopher Dodd, Jones’ attorney, issued a forceful statement to Sportsnet denouncing the police department’s handling of the case that stems from a February 21st traffic incident. The charges, filed months after the original incident, accuse Jones of leaving the scene of an accident near San Mateo and Lomas in Albuquerque.
“As Jon’s lawyer, I am stunned by the Albuquerque Police Department’s decision to charge him in this new case,” Dodd stated. “In the thousands of cases I have handled in my career, I have never seen a case as strange and unwarranted as this one.”
The attorney’s statement directly contradicts the police version of events detailed in court documents. According to the criminal complaint, officers investigating the crash found a woman in the passenger seat of one of the vehicles who identified Jones as the driver who had fled on foot before authorities arrived.
However, Dodd paints a dramatically different picture of what transpired that evening. “Jon was not driving that night; he wasn’t in the car,” the attorney declared. “It appears that an intoxicated woman used a false allegation against Jon to avoid being arrested for DWI, and the police fell for it.”
The case has taken several unusual turns that have caught the attention of Jones’ legal team. Court documents reveal that when police attempted to contact the person believed to be Jones by phone, the conversation escalated to the point where backup was requested due to perceived threats. The documents state the individual “made statements implying his capacity to employ lethal force through third parties” and included “allusions to violence.”
Dodd’s statement also takes aim at the scope of the police investigation, particularly their decision to pursue a warrant for Jones’ cell phone records in what he characterizes as a routine traffic matter.
“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,” Dodd said. “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 attorney’s criticism extends beyond questioning the investigation’s methods to suggesting potential misconduct by law enforcement. “The only thing I can think of is that the police were targeting Jon for improper purposes,” Dodd stated, indicating the defense may challenge the validity of the entire investigation.
Phone records obtained by police showed Jones called the woman’s number 13 times from the time of the crash until 11:34 a.m. the following morning, with additional text messages sent from his number. The woman told investigators her memory of events was fragmented, remembering being at Jones’ house but with her “next recollection being at the scene of a traffic accident.”
When Jones was eventually interviewed by police several days after the incident, he provided his own account of events. He told investigators the woman had left his residence in an impaired state and contacted him after the accident. Jones claimed that when he spoke to what he assumed was a police officer, that person “immediately opened the conversations with unprofessional language, which led him to doubt the legitimacy of the individual’s claim.”
The timing of the charges has raised additional questions, as the criminal summons wasn’t filed until Tuesday in Metropolitan Court, several months after the February incident. Jones has been ordered to appear for a bond arraignment on July 24.
UFC President Dana White confirmed that Jones had contacted the organization to announce his decision to step away from competition, though there’s no official indication the legal issues influenced that choice.
Dodd concluded his statement with a promise to vigorously defend his client against what he characterizes as baseless allegations. “We will get to the bottom of it and make sure that this baseless case is dismissed,” the attorney declared.
The case represents the latest legal challenge for the 37-year-old, who has previously faced similar charges related to leaving the scene of an accident. Jones pleaded guilty to such charges in 2015 following a hit-and-run incident involving a pregnant woman and received supervised probation.
