Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon has been cleared of charges that he threatened to shoot a woman in the face during a road rage incident earlier this year.
The Bengals and star rusher Joe Mixon are under a month away from the start of their NFL season on Sept. 10. As the team goes through final weeks of preparation, the 27-year-old was also busy working with his lawyers on defending serious charges against him in Hamilton County Municipal Court.
Mixon was in hot water with authorities stemming from a January 21 incident where the state claims he drew a gun on a woman after an instance of road rage. The allegations also included a claim that Mixon said he should shoot her in the face.
Well, it seems prosecutors did not do enough to prove to Judge Gwen Bender that he was guilty of charges of aggravated menacing.
- Joe Mixon stats (2022): 210 rushes, 814 yards, 7 touchdowns, 3.9 yards per carry
Joe Mixon was found not guilty of aggravated menacing
“The standard of reasonable doubt is the highest standard that we have in our justice system, as it should be,” Judge Bender said before issuing a not-guilty ruling. “After a careful review of all of the evidence presented at trial, including the stipulations and the testimony presented today, I cannot say the city sustained its burden.”
Aggravated menacing is a misdemeanor in Ohio and if found guilty Joe Mixon was facing up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $1000, and as much as five years probation. The case was originally dismissed a month after the incident to allow the county more time to investigate the claims and then they eventually refiled the case this past April.
“The organization is pleased that this matter is now behind everyone,” the Cincinnati Bengals said in a statement, “and we look forward to an exciting season with Joe being an important part of the football team.”
Mixon’s attorneys built their defense on the belief the woman, whose name was not given in court, was actually enraged and did not believe the football star would cause her serious harm. Which is the basis of aggravated menacing under Ohio law.
Mixon was taken with the 48th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He has played six seasons with the team and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2021, as he hit a career peak with 1,205 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. He battled injuries and had a down year in 2022 as he earned just 814 yards and seven rushing TDs in 14 games.
He is in the third year of a four-year, $48 million extension he signed in 2020.