The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
Chad Johnson, formerly known as Chad Ochocinco, is a wide receiver who played mostly for the Cincinnati Bengals since 2001. He signed with the Miami Dolphins on June 11 of this year, but was dropped following his arrest last month.
He and his wife Evelyn Lozada had a fight after she discovered a receipt detailing the purchase of condoms. What started out as an argument allegedly turned violent. Lozada told police that Johnson head-butted her during the altercation. Johnson was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. The following day, Johnson was dropped from the Miami Dolphins as a result of the arrest.
Lozada informed prosecutors that she did not want the prosecution to proceed and didn’t wish for Johnson to be jailed. Prosecutors offered Johnson a plea deal, the terms of which include attending anger management classes and obeying a restraining order which prohibits Johnson from contacting Lozada in any way, including by email, text message, and Twitter.
Although Johnson will serve no jail time for this incident, he may still face disciplinary actions by the NFL under the league’s personal conduct policy, should he sign a new contract.
Once police have been contacted in a domestic violence case, they will determine whether a harmful or offensive contact has occurred, and if so, make an arrest. As we’ve seen here, once charges have been filed, they cannot simply dropped by the other party.
When police arrive to ask questions during a domestic dispute, it may be in your best interest to not make a statement. If you or a loved one are arrested on suspicion of domestic violence charges, contact Orange County criminal lawyer Staycie R. Sena immediately at (949) 477-8088 for a free consultation.