Editors’ note: This story contains accounts of domestic violence. If you or someone you know is a survivor of domestic abuse, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or at https://www.thehotline.org/.
Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascón announced on Tuesday that his office filed domestic violence charges against Hornets forward Miles Bridges after he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend in front of their two kids in June.
According to the criminal complaint, Bridges faces “two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death” and one felony count of injuring a child’s parent. Bridges is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, per the district attorney’s office release.
The 24-year-old was initially arrested on June 29 for intimate partner violence with injury, which The Charlotte Observer confirmed per a Los Angeles Police department spokesperson. According to the Associated Press, the forward was released on $130,000 bond.
Gascón, the Los Angeles County district attorney, said Bridges will be held accountable for his actions.
“Children who witness family violence are especially vulnerable and the impact on them is immeasurable,” Gascón said, per the release. “Mr. Bridges will be held accountable for his actions and our Bureau of Victim Services will support the survivors through this difficult process.”
The Hornets issued a statement Tuesday, saying that the organization is “aware” of the charges that Bridges faces.
“These are very serious charges that we will continue to monitor,” the statement read. “As this is a legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time.”
On July 1, Mychelle Johnson, Bridges’s girlfriend, shared a statement and a series of photos on Instagram following Bridges’s arrest, showing proof of her injuries that she endured during the alleged altercation with Bridges. Johnson’s post also included an image of a hospital discharge form detailing the following diagnosis: “Adult victim of physical abuse by male partner; assault by strangulation, brain concussion, closed fracture of nasal bone, contusion of rib, multiple bruises, strain of neck muscle.”
“I hate that it has come to this but I can’t be silent anymore. I’ve allowed someone to destroy my home, abuse me in every way possible and traumatize our kids for life,” Johnson wrote. “I have nothing to prove to the world, but I won’t allow anyone who could do something so horrible to have no remorse and paint a picture of something I’m not. I won’t allow the people around him to continue to silence me and continue to lie to protect this person. It’s unethical, it’s immoral, it’s truly SICK. It hurts my heart because I’ve always had hope, and so much love and as scary as this is for me to do it’s time I stand up for myself.”
Bridges, a restricted free agent, was the Hornets’ leading scorer last season averaging 20.2 points and seven rebounds in his fourth NBA season. Prior to Bridges’s arrest, Charlotte had plans of re-signing the star forward.
