UFC News & Notes: Jon Jones Case Pause Before Grand Jury As DA Waits for Key Evidence
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones will not face a grand jury for his alleged hit-and-run case yet. The district attorney's office has delayed bringing his case to the jury pending its request for vital evidences that has stayed the mixed martial artist from being summoned to court.
The 60-day deadline given to the prosecutor's office has already expired but the DA still expects to move with the case soon, reported MMA Junkie.
The prosecutor handling the case was unable to proceed with the next step because his office needed two key evidences to do so. The DA had to have in hand the medical records of the alleged hit-and-run victim as well as the dispatch report from the Albuquerque Police Department to move forward, stated the public information officer from the Bernalillo County District Attorney's office.
Although the 60-day deadline has expired, it does not mean that the 27-year-old is off the hook yet. Prosecutors can still pursue a case as soon as it has obtained the documents needed.
However, given that the deadline was not met, it means that Jones' case would not be shown to a grand jury that will decide on whether it should be tried in a criminal court or not.
Office of the District Attorney's Public Information Officer Kayla Anderson revealed that the prosecutors will still push through with the case after they have all the needed evidences at hand.
"Proceeding on a case without a complete discovery could result in the likely dismissal of the case altogether," Anderson stated in an email sent to MMA Junkie. "We have requested both pieces of outstanding evidence and anticipate moving forward when we have a completed case investigation."
The prosecutor's office is required to gather all evidences against a suspect before the indictment procedure begins as stated in the new Case Management Order given by state of New Mexico.
This new rule aims to "address the efficient delivery of justice and the speedy trial rights of defendants as well as overcrowding at the jail in Bernalillo County," according to the statement of Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts in Santa Fe Arthur Pepin to the Albuquerque News Journal.
But with Jones not in jail, the DA's failure to meet the deadline meant that the conditions of his release have also expired.
These conditions pertain to "no use of drugs or alcohol, no further crimes being committed and staying in constant contact with his attorney" as the fighter is not currently in custody said Anderson to Fox Sports.
Jones was stripped of his UFC title and placed on an indefinite suspension after he turned himself to authorities for allegedly fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run accident in April.
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