Johnny Manziel reportedly indicted by Dallas grand jury
Johnny Manziel has been indicted by a Dallas County grand jury on a charge of misdemeanor assault with bodily injury, according to L.P. Phillips of CBS DFW. The charge stems from an alleged January altercation in which an ex-girlfriend of Manziel told authorities that the quarterback repeatedly struck her after throwing her into a car.
The grand jury reviewed evidence in the case on Thursday, and some observers expected an indictment after nothing was announced that day. Dallas police had referred a misdemeanor domestic violence assault case to the grand jury rather than arrest Manziel.
Citing sources, CBS DFW also reported that Manziel and Crowley had reached an out-of-court civil settlement of undisclosed terms. In February, a judge had placed a restraining order on the ex-Browns player, in which he must stay away from Crowley for the next two years.
Crowley had told police that the incident, which took place Jan. 29, began with an argument about another woman. She said that, after he forced her into his car, she jumped out and hid behind some bushes. When he found her and threw her back into the car, he struck her and told her that he was going to drop her off at her vehicle and then kill himself.
“He grabbed me by my hair and threw me back into the car and got back in himself,” Crowley said in an affidavit filed on Feb 3. “He hit me with his open hand on my left ear for jumping out of the car. I realized immediately that I could not hear out of that ear, and I still cannot today, two days later. Fearful for my life, I hit Respondent several times, hoping I could back out of the car. Respondent threw me off of him and I hit my head on the car window and I fell into the passenger floorboard. Still fearful for my life, I stayed in the floorboard motionless until Respondent pulled me back onto the seat.”
In March, Manziel was released by the Browns following two seasons marked by injury-marred, inconsistent play on the field and unrepentant partying off of it. Last week, the former Heisman Trophy winner was dropped by his agent, the second time this year that has happened.
