Adam “Pacman” Jones was arrested in early January and charged with three misdemeanors for assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business and a felony of harassment with a bodily substance. On Tuesday, Jones pleaded guilty to obstructing police and will avoid any jail time as a result.
According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, Jones had his misdemeanor charges for assault and disorderly conduct tossed out by a judge at the request of the prosecution during a hearing in a municipal court on Tuesday. His felony charge had previously been dropped by the prosecutor as well. As part of his plea, Jones was sentenced to two days in jail, which had already been served, and he will avoid being placed on probation. Jones issued an apology in court for his actions and issued a direct apology to a police officer Jones verbally assaulted after his arrest.
“The case is closed,” Jones’ attorney Alex Triantafilou said. “We think the sentence recognizes this wasn’t a serious offense. He was upset and his emotions got the best of him.”
Earlier reports about Jones allegedly spitting on a nurse turned out to not be legitimate.
“Adam took responsibility for not making the officer’s job any easier,” Triantafilou said. “There was never an assault, there was never a felony in this case.”
Jones has reportedly gone through counseling and attended anger management classes after his January arrest. Now, all that remains to be seen is how the NFL will crack down on Jones. Jones is arguably in violation of the league’s subjective personal conduct policy by pleading guilty to obstructing an officer, and the NFL is monitoring the situation at this time. Despite the reputation Jones may carry with him, he has not been suspended by the NFL since 2007 and has yet to be sanctioned by the league since joining the Cincinnati Bengals.
Evaluating how the NFL will enforce its personal conduct policy is a total guessing game, so who knows just what comes from the league office for Jones.
