Skip to main content

UFC champion Jon Jones posts bond after arrest for felony hit-and-run

UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones has been arrested for hit-and-run in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  • Author:
  • Publish date:

UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones was released from an Albuquerque, New Mexico, jail after posting a $2,500 bond following his arrest after a hit-and-run automobile accident.

According to Albuquerque police records, Jones was processed, released late Monday night and charged with felony hit-and-run.

The accident occurred Sunday morning in southeast Albuquerque, about four miles from the gym where Jones trains. By Sunday night, Jones had been publicly identified by police as the suspect.

According to the police report, Jones was driving a silver Buick SUV and ran a red light, hitting a Honda driven by a 30-year-old pregnant woman, identified as Vanessa Sonnenberg. Jones's car hit the Honda on the driver's side and Sonnenberg suffered a fractured wrist and arm.

Jones jogged up a nearby hill and returned to his vehicle a short time later, at which point he began taking cash out of the car and stuffing it in his pockets, a witness told police. He then fled the scene on foot, running into a gated community.

Jones was identified as the driver of the Buick by an off-duty policy officer who had driven by the scene and recognized Jones standing near the car.

• ​WAGENHEIM: UFC 186: Johnson defeats Horiguchi

A police spokesperson told ESPN.com that the vehicle Jones left at the scene of the accident is a rental and said a marijuana pipe with marijuana inside of it was found in the car, but no other drugs.

Jones, the reigning light heavyweight champion, is scheduled to fight 31-year-old Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 on May 23.

Jones successfully defended his title against Daniel Cormier in January. After the fight, it was announced that he tested positive for cocaine during an out-of-competition test in December. Jones was fined $25,000 and checked into a rehab facility.

• Jon Jones: 'I don't have a drug problem—I just got caught'​

In 2012, Jones was arrested for DUI after he crashed his car into a utility pole.

Jones (21-1) has won 12 consecutive fights and eight title defenses.

- Dan Gartland and Scooby Axson