DENVER — An Arapahoe County Court judge on Tuesday dropped the criminal case against Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy at the prosecution’s request, according to court records.
Jeudy, 23, was arrested May 12 on a misdemeanor second-degree criminal tampering charge that included a domestic violence sentence enhancer after a dispute with the mother of his 1-month-old child.
Jeudy had been scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon but that hearing was canceled and the case closed, Judge Chantel Contiguglia wrote in an order dismissing the case that was issued just before 10 a.m.
Prosecutors with the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office cited a lack of cooperation from the alleged victim in the case as a key reason for the dismissal.
“The victim expressed she did not feel annoyed, inconvenienced, threatened or intimidated in any way by the defendant,” the motion to dismiss reads. “Thus, the People believe it would be very difficult to prove a necessary element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Further, the victim indicates she wants the case dismissed and will not cooperate in its prosecution.”
The mother of Jeudy’s child had previously said in court she never felt threatened during the domestic dispute and asked that the case be dismissed. The pair were in an ongoing relationship. The motion to dismiss notes that she has “moved out of state and does not intend to return.”
Authorities were called to the May 12 dispute after the woman reported she wanted to leave a residence but could not because Jeudy allegedly withheld her wallet, a child car seat and the child’s paperwork. All of it was locked in a vehicle.
Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown previously said “there was no physical contact” during the altercation, and that the domestic violence enhancer was included in the case because it dealt with withholding property as a means of coercion.
The motion to dismiss notes that the prosecution would have had to prove that Jeudy tampered with the victim’s property with the intent to injure, inconvenience or annoy her, and that the crime was committed as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation or revenge.
“The People believe probable cause existed for the arrest of the defendant, and that law enforcement’s decision to arrest the defendant was legally correct,” the motion reads. “However, in deciding whether to pursue a case, the People are bound by the higher ethical standard of reasonable probability of success at trial and the legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Jeudy’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. He previously said it was “extreme” that his client spent a night in jail for an incident that did not involve violence or threats of violence.
