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Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges had three criminal counts against him dismissed on Feburary 13th, according to a document filed in the Mecklenburg County court. Per ESPN, the state of North Carolina dropped its cases against Bridges due to "lack of sufficient evidence" against him.
The court filing noted that, because of conflicting statements arising from an October incident that led to vehicle damage, "given the lack of sufficient evidence to overcome the inconsistency of these accounts, the state would not be successful at trial."
Prosecutors were pursuing three different charges against Miles Bridges, including domestic violence protective order violation, misdemeanor child abuse and injury to personal property.
In the filing, prosecutors stated that Mychelle Johnson, Bridges' former girlfriend and the victim, provided inconsistent statements to the police. She later expressed uncertainty about how the damages occurred.
Bridges did not play in the 2022-23 season because of the allegations. He also received a 30-game suspension from the NBA, with the last 10 games of the suspension carrying over to the start of the 2023-24 season.
The Hornets forward returned to the NBA court on November 17, marking his first game since April 10, 2022.
Since his return, Bridges has appeared in 42 games, averaging 21.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 36.8% from deep for the 12-41 Hornets.
Bridges has been placed under a 10-year criminal protection order for the Johnson, weekly narcotics and marijuana testing, and restitution.
Timeline of the Miles Bridges case
It was in June 2022 when Miles Bridges was taken into custody in Los Angeles on domestic violence charges after allegedly assaulting Mychelle Johnson in front of their two children. He was released after posting a $130,000 bond.
Johnson had said she suffered a concussion, a fractured nasal bone, a contusion on her rib, various bruises and a strained neck muscle.
The following month, Miles Bridges was formally charged with one felony count of causing harm to a parent of a child and two felony counts of child abuse. The next day, at his arraignment, he entered a plea of not guilty to all three charges.
In November 2022, he changed his plea to no contest for the felony domestic charge and was given a three-year probation sentence. The other two charges were dropped.
In April 2023, Bridges was handed a 30-game suspension without pay from the NBA. As he had already missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season, 20 of these games were already considered served.
In October 2023, North Carolina authorities issued a criminal summons for Bridges, accusing him of violating a domestic violence protective order, misdemeanor child abuse and causing damage to personal property.
Bridges allegedly threatened Johnson during a custody exchange and was accused of throwing pool table balls at her car, causing damage to the windshield and denting the vehicle. He also allegedly threatened to withhold child support if she reported the incident to the police.
On November 3, 2022, Bridges pleaded no contest to a felony domestic violence charge of injuring a child's parent. As a result, he received a three-year probation term in exchange for no jail time.
