Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges turned himself in Friday on an arrest warrant, which was first issued on Jan. 2, for violation of a domestic violence protection order, a spokesperson for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The Athletic.
Bridges, who was accompanied by his lawyer at the Lincoln County Detention Center (N.C.), is charged with domestic violence protection order violation, misdemeanor child abuse and injury to personal property. He appeared before a district court judge and was released on a $1,000 bond, the spokesperson said.
Bridges, 25, also was served a criminal summons for an allegation of violating a protection order, misdemeanor child abuse and injury to personal property, according to the sheriff’s office.
The summons alleged Bridges threatened the mother of his children, who is his ex-girlfriend, during a custody exchange, threw pool table balls at her car — which smashed the windshield and dented her car — and threatened to withhold child support if she told the police. The children were in the car at the time of the incident, which occurred earlier this month, according to the summons.
The NBA and the Hornets said Thursday they were aware of this month’s incident and are collecting information.
In November, Bridges pleaded no contest to a felony domestic violence charge in Los Angeles. He received three years of probation and no jail time as part of a deal with prosecutors. During his probation, Bridges is required to complete 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling, 52 weeks of parenting classes, complete 100 hours of community service and undergo weekly narcotics testing with marijuana allowed only if there is a valid doctor’s prescription.
Bridges was arrested on June 29, 2022, and later charged with one felony count of injuring a child’s parent and two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death. The felony charges also included an allegation of causing great bodily injury to the domestic violence victim, which was also dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
According to the criminal complaint, Bridges allegedly assaulted his then-girlfriend in front of their two children on June 27, 2022.
The NBA conducted its own investigation into the June 2022 domestic violence incident and suspended Bridges in April for 30 games without pay as a result. The league considers 20 games of the suspension already served from the 2022-23 season, which Bridges did not play in. He will begin the 2023-24 season by serving the remaining 10-game suspension with the Hornets.
Bridges was a restricted free agent when the June 2022 incident took place and no team signed him for the 2022-23 season. This summer, the Hornets brought Bridges back on a $7.9 million qualifying offer for the 2023-24 season, clearing the way for him to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
He has played four seasons for the Hornets but is not appearing in preseason games this month because of the suspension. Bridges, a first-round pick in 2018 out of Michigan State, averaged 20.2 points and seven rebounds per game in 2021-22.
(Photo: Andrew Wevers / USA Today)
