Johnny Manziel indicted for assault against his former girlfriend

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Footballer Johnny Manziel has been charged with a misdemeanour assault and bodily injury after he allegedly hit his former girlfriend several times and dragged her into a car as she was attempting to escape.

The currently unsigned player, who was fired by his agent last week, has been accused of hitting Colleen Crowley several times on 30 January while driving from a bar in Dallas, Texas, back to her home in Fort Worth.

Police reports say Ms Crowley tried to jump out of the moving car to escape him, but the 23-year-old quarterback dragged her back by her hair into the car and hit her so hard she became partially deaf.

Ms Crowley reportedly told the valet at Hotel Zaza, where they had just been with friends, “Please don’t let him take me. I’m scared for my life!”

Dallas Police Department decided not to arrest him and instead gathered evidence to present to a grand jury to decide if Mr Manziel should be charged with a misdemeanor case.

According to TMZ, the alleged hitting happened in Dallas so police in Fort Worth, where Ms Crowley lives, ruled that “no criminal offense was reported to have occurred within our jurisdiction”.

The Daily Mail reported that the alleged attack resulted in a ruptured eardrum and swelling.

While Mr Manziel was being investigated for assault, he appeared in high spirits at a teammate’s wedding in Forth Worth, where Ms Crowley was staying with her family.

Mr Manziel denied that he hit his girlfriend and said he did not threaten suicide in the car during their argument.

Sources said, as reported by CBS news, that the former couple may have reached an out-of-court settlement.

A judge has ordered Mr Manziel to stay at least 500 feet away from Ms Crowley, a student at Texas Christian University, or her apartment until 3 February 2018. He has also been ordered to pay $12,500 in legal fees and is not allowed to own a gun for the next two years.

The couple split up in December after two years together.

Mr Manziel’s last two seasons for the Browns team has involved headlines of the player’s drinking and partying.

He was fired by his second agent in three months, Drew Rosenhaus, and was fired by his first agent, Erik Burkhardt, in February.

He has also been dropped by two sponsors, Nike and Panini America.