Jon Jones has issued a statement following the dismissal of his most recent court case.
On Friday, charges against Jones stemming from an alleged hit-and-run incident were dropped by prosecutors who filed a nolle prosequi. Jones thanked the district attorney’s office for their decision and criticized the accuser for their allegations.
“I want to begin by thanking the district attorney’s office for carefully reviewing the facts and ultimately vindicating me completely,” Jones wrote in a statement posted to his social media. “I have always believed in the importance of truth and fairness, and I am grateful that the evidence spoke for itself. The simple fact is this: I was never there. I never even left my house that night, and all the evidence proved that. In this case, there was a rush to judgment before any real evidence was gathered.
“I understand that, in the court of public opinion, the allegations may have seemed believable, especially given my past mistakes. But by the time these claims were made public, I had just retired from competition, and that moment was stolen from me by someone who made false accusations to avoid a DWI and any real accountability.
“I sincerely hope that this individual is held responsible by Albuquerque’s law enforcement. They not only disrupted my retirement but also made our police department appear negligent in the process. It is deeply troubling that, in today’s world, a single false accusation can take so much away from someone before any evidence is even considered.”
Charges were filed in June, stemming from the alleged Feb. 21 incident, during which police said they found a half-dressed and seemingly intoxicated woman in the passenger seat of a car in the middle of an intersection following a collision.
News of the charges surfaced hours after UFC CEO Dana White made the official announcement Jones had retired.
The woman said Jones had been driving and fled the scene. She dialed who she said was Jones on her phone. The man’s voice threatened the officers, even mentioning that he had friends who could kill them. The man never identified himself as Jones.
Police released body camera video following the alleged incident. Jones later appeared to implicate himself as the voice on the phone.
Jones’ attorney, Christopher Dodd, denied Jones was driving the car the night of the incident and said the woman was intoxicated and made a false accusation, which police fell for.
