Jon Jones was recently cited for drag racing, and now the MMA fighter has been arrested and booked into an Albuquerque, New Mexico jail for violating his parole, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reports.
“According to a spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department, Jones was cited for drag racing on the evening of March 24. Additionally, Jones was cited for equipment modifications, a license plate issue and failure to maintain a driving lane,” per Okamoto.
In a statement after his original citation, Jones denied he was drag racing, per TMZ, and said he felt the police were using “a technicality” to pop him on drag racing charges. He also called the officer a “pig” and “a liar” during their encounter following the events for which he’s being charged.
His lawyer Vincent Ward, released a statement after his client was arrested Tuesday, per Okamoto: “for the police to be correct, the judge is going to have to find Jon revving his engine constitutes drag racing. He wasn’t speeding, he was not driving recklessly. All Jon did was rev his engine to acknowledge a fan.”
Jones was suspended by UFC after he was involved in a hit-and-run accident last year. He pleaded guilty fleeing the scene of the accident and ended up with 18 months probation instead of serving jail time.
His latest brush with the law is a violation of that parole.