Hornets' Miles Bridges turns himself in after warrant for violation of protection order
Content warning: The following article contains graphic descriptions of alleged domestic violence.
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges turned himself in to authorities in North Carolina on Friday, according to the Associated Press.
The 25-year-old was reportedly accompanied by his lawyer at the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with domestic violence protection order violation, misdemeanor child abuse and injury to personal property. He was released on a $1,000 bond by a district court judge.
This comes after an arrest warrant was issued Jan. 2, when a police report was filed alleging that Bridges violated a protection order stemming from a domestic violence case last year by attempting to contact the victim.
He was issued a criminal summons Wednesday for violating the order during an incident on Oct. 6. Deputies were previously unable to serve the arrest warrant, according to WSOC-TV in Charlotte, which first reported the summons and warrant.
In the summons, Bridges is accused of threatening the mother of his children during a custody exchange. He allegedly threw pool table balls at her vehicle, smashing her windshield and leaving dents on her car. Bridges allegedly told the victim that if she told the police, he would take everything from her and withhold child support.
The Hornets are gathering more information concerning this month's charges, according to a statement the team released Wednesday.
Bridges was arrested last offseason in Los Angeles after he allegedly attacked his former partner in front of their children. She posted images on social media of injuries, which she later deleted, and wrote that they included a “fracture[d] nose, wrist, torn eardrum, torn muscles in my neck from behind choked until I went to sleep and a severe concussion.”
In November 2022, Bridges pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge in a plea agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, domestic violence counseling and parenting classes. As part of the deal, Bridges agreed to terms of the 10-year protective order he is now accused of violating. He was also sentenced to three years probation. He did not serve time in jail.
The NBA suspended Bridges for 30 games after conducting an independent investigation. He did not play at all last season, which the league is counting toward 20 games of his suspension. He will serve the final 10 games of the ban to start the season this fall.