Jon Jones avoids jail time in plea deal from April incident

Jon Jones appeared in a Albuquerque, New Mexico courtroom today regarding last April’s hit and run accident which injured a pregnant woman.  Jones will not receive any jail time as part of a plea agreement.

Jones agreed to plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident causing great bodily harm.  He will serve community service hours and be placed on 18 months probation.  The plea agreement was made in part due to the fact that Jones had no prior felony convictions.

The penalty for Jones’ charge carries a jail sentence of not more than 18 months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine followed by one year on parole.  Jones will avoid this if he abides by the terms of the plea deal.

Via the District Attorney News Release:

On September 29, 2015 Jones entered into a Pre-Indictment Plea with the State of New Mexico pleading Guilty to Leaving the Scene of an Accident (Great Bodily Harm), a fourth degree felony offense.  He was granted a Conditional Discharge, and ordered to serve a term of up to 18 months on Supervised Probation.

Appearing in court, Jones apologized and stated he accepts full responsibiulity for his actions.  Jones was ordered to complete 72 appearances, one for each of the 72 weeks in the 18 month Probation period.  Second Judicial District Court Judge Charlie Brown ordered those appearances should be at local martial arts academies, grade schools, and middle schools.  There, Jones will speak with Bernalillo County children about the importance of making good choices and how oine wrong decision can ruin everything for which they work so hard.

Jones offered an official statement expressing regret for his actions:

With regards to today’s decision made by the court, I am very happy to now be able to put this incident behind me. My actions have caused pain and inconvenience in the lives of others and for that I am truly sorry and I accept full responsibility. I have been working hard during this time away from my sport to grow and mature as a man and to ensure that nothing like this happens again. I have learned a great deal from this situation and I am determined to emerge a better person because of it. I apologize to those who were affected by my actions in this incident and I am hopeful that I will be given the opportunity to redeem myself in the eyes of the public, my family and friends as well as my supporters. I am not sure what the future holds for me but I plan to continue to do the work needed to be productive and successful in every aspect of my life. “

Dana White was present in the courtroom during the hearing.  The UFC offered its own statement (via MMA Fighting) in which it indicated that Jones was still suspended but their law firm would review the plea prior to a possible reinstatement.

The UFC organization is aware that Jon Jones reached a plea agreement with authorities in Albuquerque, New Mexico this morning stemming from charges associated with a motor vehicle accident earlier this year. As a result, UFC, through Las Vegas-based law firm Campbell & Williams, will thoroughly review the agreement before discussing Jones’ possible reinstatement to return to competition.

More information will be made available following completion of this review.

Payout Perspective:

This is likely the best outcome for Jones and the UFC.  Jones avoids any jail time (subject to following the terms of the plea agreement) and the UFC will likely reinstate him.  With this being Jones’ first offense and no major injuries from the accident, no jail time was a likely result.  White being in the courtroom was no surprise.  Despite the suspension, Jones is a vital part of the company’s success.