DENVER — The girlfriend of Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy asked a judge on Friday to dismiss a misdemeanor case against him stemming from a dispute between them.
The woman, who has a one-month-old child with Jeudy, told Judge Chantel Contiguglia that she did not feel threatened during the incident and made contact with authorities to “monitor the situation.”
Jeudy, 23, was arrested Thursday at the couple’s suburban Denver home after his girlfriend reported that he had locked some of her belongings and items for the baby in his car, preventing her from returning to Virginia. He was arrested on suspicion of second-degree criminal tampering with a domestic violence enhancer, a misdemeanor, and had to spend the night in jail until he could appear before a judge because of the enhancer.
Contiguglia did not immediately decide what should happen with the case but allowed Jeudy to be released from jail and allowed him to travel.
Terri Combs, a spokesperson for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, said Friday the case remains open, with Jeudy scheduled to appear next for a hearing to enter a plea on May 31.
After the hearing, Jeudy’s lawyer, Harvey Steinberg, said Jeudy did not do anything that amounted to a crime and the domestic violence label should not have been applied to his case since there was no violence or attempted violence.
“Bad things happen to good people, and that’s what this case is,” Steinberg said.
Authorities have said there were no allegations of any physical violence. However, under Colorado law, domestic violence can include any crime committed against an intimate partner or their property that is used to intimidate, coerce or seek revenge against them. The law also requires police to arrest anyone they suspect committed such a crime.
Preventing a partner from having access to money, personal belongings or medication to try to control them or keep them from leaving are some examples of other kinds of domestic violence, said Roshan Kalantar, associate director of Violence Free Colorado, the state’s domestic violence coalition.
Mandatory arrest laws developed because of concerns in the past that police were downplaying the danger of domestic abuse or feeling powerless to arrest a suspect if the victim denied abuse out of fear, Kalantar said. However, she acknowledged that some domestic violence survivors do not want an arrest, which can lead to more violence against them later.
Broncos first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett said after the first day of rookie minicamp Friday that he met with Jeudy following his release from jail and “we’re going to move forward from this and we’re going to learn from it as a team.”
Hackett demurred when asked if Jeudy would face any team discipline: “You know, we’ll look into all the stuff and make sure we do the right stuff. We’re here to support him and move on from this.”