With reports leaking over the weekend that former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel would be indicted on misdemeanor assault charges, a Dallas grand jury has filed the paperwork today making the indictment official. The charge stems from a violent incident with his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley in January, when Manziel dragged Crowley from a hotel room into his car; when she tried to jump out of the car to get away from him, she says in an affidavit, "he hit me with his open hand on my left ear," at which point she noticed that she had lost hearing in that ear. Manziel also allegedly threatened to kill Crowley and himself in the car.
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The charge carries with it a sentence of up to one year in jail and a maximum $4,000 fine. Manziel's attorney Jim Darnell released a statement saying the former Texas A&M star would "certainly plead 'not guilty'" and further stated that he expected "the evidence will support that plea."With the indictment official, Manziel will now fly to Dallas and turn himself in, while also paying his bond, which means he won't spend any more time in jail than it takes to process and book him.Making things a little more curious is that there were also anonymously sourced reports that Manziel and Crowley had reached an out-of-court civil settlement in the matter. If that is indeed true, it stands to reason that Crowley would not testify against Manziel as the case progresses through the courts. It makes little sense for Manziel to settle with Crowley financially if she would then also testify against him in court, and the settlement terms likely void the deal if she does. Crowley has provided affidavits detailing the events that precipitated the altercation, but it's unclear if the prosecution could get a conviction without Crowley's participation.[USA Today]Copy of Johnny Manziel's indictment pic.twitter.com/v0s9fMTcUo
— Rebecca Lopez (@rlopezwfaa) April 26, 2016