Hornets forward Miles Bridges will reportedly avoid jail time after he pleaded no contest to a felony domestic violence charge, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
Bridges, though, will face three years of probation as part of the agreement with prosecutors. He accepted the punishment while refraining from admitting guilt in the case, per Holmes.
The update on Bridges’s punishment comes after the restricted free agent was accused of assaulting his former girlfriend in front of their two children in May. In June, Los Angeles police arrested Bridges on but he was released on $130,000 bond.
But in July, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon filed three felony charges—one count of injuring a child’s parent and two counts of abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death—against the 24-year-old, who originally pleaded not guilty to all three.
Bridges appeared in court Thursday morning and pleaded no contest to one count, California Penal Code Section 273.5 (a), which discusses domestic violence regarding a spouse or other beneficiary, according to Holmes. The two other counts were dropped as part of the agreement.
His felony charge also included an “allegation of causing great bodily injury on the domestic violence victim” that was dropped as part of the negotiated plea deal. Bridges’s three-year probation will reportedly consist of attending 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling, 52 weeks of parenting classes, serving 100 hours of community service and once a week narcotic testing that only allows the use of marijuana if there is a reasonable doctor’s prescription.
Going forward, Bridges reportedly will not be permitted to own any guns, ammunition or dangerous weapons. He will also be required to pay a $300 restitution fine, a $500 domestic violence fine and abide by the agreement of a 10-year protective order, requiring him to refrain from having contact with the woman and maintaining 100 yards away from her.
Bridges and the woman were able to keep custody of their two kids but all visitation or exchange of the children between the parents must be done peacefully and via a neutral third party, per Holmes.
When Bridges was initially arrested in June, the Hornets released a statement saying they were aware of the charges against him but did not provide any additional comments as the NBA conducted its investigation into the situation. Currently, Bridges has not signed with a NBA team this season.
The Hornets released another statement on Thursday following the ruling.
“We are aware of today’s developments regarding Miles Bridges’ legal situation,” the team’s public relations team posted. “We will continue to gather information before determining any potential next steps. Until then, we will have no additional comments.”
However, due to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, the league could potentially suspend, fine or dismiss him from having any connection to the league because he pleaded no contest. Bridges was a first-round draft pick by the Hornets in 2018 and spent his first four seasons with Charlotte.
