Johnny Manziel: Judge sets conditions for bond on contact with ex, guns
DALLAS, TX (KTRK) -- Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel appeared in front of a judge in Dallas County for the first time in relation to a misdemeanor charge stemming from a domestic violence complaint by his former girlfriend.
Judge Robert Canas set conditions of his bond. He told Manziel not to have contact with his former girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, even if she were to initiate it. "You're an adult, you're a grown man, you can choose who you speak to on the phone, who you answer the door for... things of that nature, OK?" Cansas told Manziel.
Manziel was also prohibited from being near or possessing firearms.
Manziel's attorney, Bob Hinton, said of the conditions, "They're the same terms anybody else under similar circumstances would have. Nothing unusual about it at all."
The 23-year-old former A&M quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner was booked in and out of the Highland Park jail on Wednesday and was released on $1,500 bond.
Manziel faces a charge of misdemeanor assault related to family violence, which carries up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. He surrendered voluntarily; his attorney Jim Darnell released a statement the day charges were announced saying he believed Manziel would be acquitted.
Crowley, Manziel's ex-girlfriend, alleged in a statement filed seeking a protection order that Manziel hit her and dragged her into a car against her will during a night out on January 30. The statement said Crowley was hit so hard she ruptured her eardrum. Crowley's medical records were provided to police.
The two-year protection order was granted and signed by Manziel.
The NFL will look into the situation. Manziel could be disciplined under the league's personal conduct and substance abuse policies.
The charge against Manziel was the most serious incident in a turbulent off-season for the quarterback.
That off-season started when he finished the Cleveland Browns season in the NFL's concussion protocol but was seen in Las Vegas the night before and day of the team's season finale. The Browns released him in March.
He since has been in numerous social media photos around the country. He has lost an endorsement from Nike and been dropped by two agents as well as LRMR, the marketing arm of LeBron James' agency.
A rental agent in West Hollywood, California, alleged Manziel rented a house in March and held two nights of wild parties that prompted calls to police from neighbors.
On the night of the draft, Manziel was photographed watching TV in a bar. He responded angrily to that photograph on Twitter the next night, saying he has been doing the same things he always has done.
There were a number of people at court in Dallas supporting "Johnny Football." Rachael Rustmann wore a shirt reading "Free Manziel." She said, "I think people need to kinda tone it back a little bit with their criticism of him and realize that he's got an issue."
Manziel has said he will work to return to the NFL in 2016, but no team has shown interest in signing him. His case is set to be in court again June 24.
