Dallas Grand Jury Indicts Johnny Manziel On Assault Charge

Image via Zimbio

These days, when it comes to former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, no news is good news. With the thinnest of lines separating ‘unemployed’ from ‘unemployable,’ Manziel may have finally solidified his as the latter.

On Tuesday a grand jury in Dallas indicted the Texas A&M stud turned Cleveland Browns dud for the allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend earlier this year. Manziel has been charged with misdemeanor assault, accused of kidnapping, hitting and threatening to kill Colleen Crowley.

The incident took place on the morning of January 30^th at a Dallas hotel. Crowley alleges Manziel threw her on the bed and restrained her, physically preventing her from leaving. According to the affidavit, Crowley “said she was still restrained as Manziel led her to the hotel’s valet, where she cried: ‘Please don’t let him take me. I’m scared for my life.’”

Unsure of what to do, the valet allowed them to leave. The pair drove to Crowley’s car, parked at a different location, at which point Crowley says Manziel continued the violent assault as they switched vehicles. From that point they drove back to Crowley’s apartment, along the way she alleges Manziel threatened to kill both himself and her.

On the off chance this goes to trial, Manziel faces a maximum of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. At some point a plea deal may be reached (or a monetary settlement agreed upon and the charges dropped), but right now Manziel’s attorneys seem to be posturing.

One of those attorneys, Robert Hinton, told the AP that Manziel will plead not guilty and plans to fight the charge. Noting that the police opted to refer the case to the grand jury, rather than arrest him at the scene, Hinton said, “That doesn’t describe a very strong case for the state.”

In terms of his NFL career, exactly how the latest chapter of Manziel’s big book of dysfunction plays out may not even matter. Two weeks ago Drew Rosenhaus became the second agent in two months to dump Manziel, who has also recently been kicked to the curb by Nike.

“I hope he gets the help he needs,” Rosenhaus told the AP after severing ties with Manziel. Unfortunately, unless the help he needs can be found at the bottom of a Patron, that seems unlikely—at least in the short-term.