CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single misdemeanor charge from an altercation this year, the latest in a history of off-the-field legal issues for the NFL veteran.
Municipal Court Judge Dwane Mallory dismissed misdemeanor counts of assault and disorderly conduct at the prosecutor’s request after a plea agreement. He sentenced Jones to time already served — two days — on the obstructing official business count. Police said he kicked and used head-butting as he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a downtown hotel employee.
However, Jones, who has twice had lengthy suspensions in his career, still faces potential NFL discipline.
“We have been monitoring developments in this matter, which continues to be reviewed under the personal conduct policy,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said via email. “We have no timetable on any potential discipline.”
Jones, 33, apologized in court for his behavior and specifically to Cincinnati police Sgt. Jarrod Cotton. Police video showed Jones in the back of a police cruiser making profane comments and telling the officer: “I hope you die tomorrow.” His attorneys said he has been receiving treatment, including for anger management.
“I truly apologize for what I did, my actions,” Jones said. “I’m trying to get better every day.”
He said he also wanted to apologize “to all the kids” for not setting a better example.
The judge cited Jones’ apologies among a “multitude of factors” for his sentence.
“I don’t take into account celebrity,” the judge told The Associated Press. “I have 99 percent non-celebrities in my court.”
The Hamilton County prosecutor earlier dismissed a felony count alleging Jones spit on a jail nurse.
He was suspended as a Tennessee Titan by the NFL throughout the 2007 season, then was suspended again during the 2008 season as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. Jones pleaded an equivalent of no contest to a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct in a 2007 Las Vegas strip club melee. Jones was blamed for instigating violence that led to the shooting by someone else of two club employees, one left paralyzed from the waist down. He was ordered to pay more than $12.4 million in damages.
The Titans made the Atlanta native the sixth overall pick out of West Virginia University in the 2005 draft. His NFL career was in doubt by the time the Bengals signed him in 2010.
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