CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones faces three misdemeanor charges, including assault, but no longer is being charged with a felony for a January confrontation with hotel security guards, police and a nurse.
A felony charge of harassment with a bodily substance, for allegedly spitting at a nurse, was dismissed at the prosecuting attorney’s request, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said in a statement Wednesday. The felony charge carries a potential sentence of six to 12 months in jail upon conviction.
Deters said the misdemeanors also include disorderly conduct and obstructing official business. Those charges will be referred to Hamilton County Municipal Court in Cincinnati for prosecution by a city prosecutor, according to Deters.
The 33-year-old veteran football player, whose career has been marked by off-the-field legal issues, was jailed early Jan. 3. Authorities said Jones tangled with hotel security late at night.
Cincinnati police said he pushed a security employee and poked him in the eye, then kicked and head-butted as officers tried to put him into a police vehicle. They later released a video showing Jones in the back of a police vehicle repeatedly using profanity toward the officers and telling one: “I hope you die tomorrow.”
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office reported that after Jones was taken to jail, he spit on a jail nurse’s hand.
He apologized through his attorneys and the Bengals also apologized for his behavior. Jones said after his Jan. 4 release from jail that he shouldn’t have been arrested and that the case didn’t make sense.
Deters had delayed action in the case while Jones received treatment for alcohol and anger issues.
The prosecutor’s statement said his office received a letter from Jones’ treating physician indicating Jones is doing well in treatment. No further information on Jones’ treatment will be released by the prosecutor’s office.
The Hamilton County Justice Center nurse who was the subject of the felony charge has been pursuing civil remedies against Jones, according to Deters. He said the felony charge will not be pursued, “given a possible civil remedy.”
A Bengals spokesman said the team has no comment because the case is continuing. A message was left Wednesday for Jones’ attorney, Timothy Schneider.
Jones will be subject to potential NFL discipline after the case is resolved.
The former West Virginia star was the sixth overall pick in the 2005 draft by the Tennessee Titans. His off-field problems started with a strip club melee in Las Vegas in 2007. He pleaded the equivalent of no contest to a misdemeanor charge.
Jones was blamed for instigating violence that led to someone else shooting two club employees, one of whom was left paralyzed from the waist down. He was ordered to pay more than $12.4 million in damages.
The NFL suspended Jones for the 2007 season. He was traded to the Cowboys, and was suspended again in 2009 over an alcohol-related altercation with a bodyguard that the Cowboys provided.
After sitting out the 2009 season, he signed with the Bengals as a free agent and played five games before suffering a neck injury. He missed half of the following season while recovering from neck surgery and a hamstring injury.
Jones played in at least 14 games over each of the past five seasons, becoming one of their top cornerbacks and kick returners. He was chosen for the Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2015. He also was involved in the Bengals’ playoff meltdown against the Steelers in 2015, drawing a personal foul that helped set up Pittsburgh’s field goal in the closing seconds for an 18-16 win.
While in Cincinnati, he’s been involved in several other court cases.
Jones was acquitted in 2013 on an assault charge in Hamilton County after a woman accused him of punching her in a nightclub. Earlier that year, he paid a fine for disorderly conduct after police accused him of making offensive comments during a traffic stop. He also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in January 2012 after an arrest at a Cincinnati bar.
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Associated Press Sports Writer Joe Kay and AP writer Dan Sewell in Cincinnati contributed to this report
PHOTO: AP
