Atlanta Falcons' James Pearce Jr. Investigation Gets Important Update

More information has come out about Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr.’s investigation in Miami. According to a second report from ESPN’s NFL Nation reporter Marc Raimondi, the Miami-Dade (Florida) State Attorney brought four charges against Pearce in relation to his arrest on February 7th.

According to the report, Pearce, 22, has been charged with three felonies, including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting an officer with violence to his or her person. The fourth arrest charge of felony aggravated stalking was changed to a misdemeanor. Additionally, the aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer charge was dropped. This charge, if convicted, would carry a minimum sentence of five years.

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On the morning of his arrest, Pearce allegedly arrived at the apartment of his ex-girlfriend, WNBA player Rickea Jackson. Afterwards, he started following her in his SUV. Jackson said she attempted to flee, but that he approached her vehicle on foot while she was stopped at a red light and attempted to open the door. She proceeded to drive to the Doral City Police Department, but that is where Pearce started crashing into her vehicle.

Police soon arrived on the scene, and TMZ reported that Pearce ignored their verbal commands to comply. He locked the door and attempted to flee the officers on the scene, where he struck an officer “in the area of his left knee intentionally in an attempt to evade arrest.”

That is where the (since dropped) charge of aggravated battery stemmed from.

These official charges emerged just a few days after another report from ESPN and Raimondi was made public on Monday.

Before the day of the arrest, reports indicated there were “at least seven 911 calls to police indicate heightened fears from his unidentified girlfriend that she was being stalked and harassed, and that she believed Pearce had tried to break into her residence.”

ESPN confirmed that the court granted her request for protection from Pearce, and a permanent injunction hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21. The Falcons edge rusher has been ordered not to have “any sort of contact with Jackson or come within 500 feet of her home, or place of employment, or 100 feet from her vehicle.”

Jackson previously told investigators that she was willing to testify against Pearce should charges come forward. The NFL confirmed in February that it will review his case under the personal conduct policy, seperate of the pending legal investigation.

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