Hornets forward Miles Bridges had three criminal charges against him dropped by a North Carolina court Tuesday afternoon.
Bridges faced three charges in the Mecklenburg County court, which were dismissed due to "insufficient evidence," ESPN reported: a domestic violence protective order violation, a misdemeanor child abuse and injury to personal property.
The charges stemmed from an incident in October 2023, when Bridges allegedly threw billiard balls at a car with his children in it, per NBA reporter Derek Bodnar.
The NBA suspended the 25-year-old for 30 games without pay after he pleaded "no contest" to a June 2022 domestic violence case. Bridges served the final 10 games of his suspension at the start of the 2023-24 season but has played in all but one game for the Hornets since his return.
Here is the latest update on Bridges' situation.
Miles Bridges has three criminal counts dropped for 'lack of sufficient evidence'
The Mecklenburg County Superior Court dismissed three criminal counts against Bridges for "insufficient evidence to warrant prosecution," according to a court filing obtained by ESPN.
Tuesday's court filing stated that the victim, Bridges' former girlfriend, gave "conflicting statements to police and later she said she was unsure how the damages were caused," per ESPN's report.
"Given the lack of sufficient evidence to overcome the inconsistency of these accounts, the state would not be successful at trial," the filing states.
Bridges is serving three years of probation after pleading no contest to avoid jail time in a separate June 2022 domestic violence case involving his former girlfriend, who is the mother of his two children. Bridges has a 10-year criminal protection order from the woman and also has weekly narcotics and marijuana testing, as well as restitution, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
What did Miles Bridges do?
In June 2022, Bridges was arrested in Los Angeles on multiple offenses, including felony domestic violence charges. In the state of California, felony domestic violence is a domestic crime committed with aggravating factors, which includes violence resulting in bodily injury.
Following his arrest, Bridges was released on $130,000 bond, according to police records.
In November 2022, Bridges pleaded no contest after a court appearance, meaning he accepted the punishment and the conviction without formally admitting guilt. While Bridges did not serve any jail time, he received three years probation, which included a 10-year protective restraining order from his former partner.
In early October 2023, a report from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department stated that Bridges violated the protective order during a custody exchange with his ex-partner, with whom he has two children. He was accused of throwing billiard balls at a car with his children in it, which resulted in a shattered windshield and dents to the vehicle, per NBC News.
