QB Johnny Manziel Charged With Assault

DALLAS (CN) - A Dallas County grand jury has indicted former Cleveland Browns and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel on a misdemeanor assault charge involving his ex-girlfriend, according to his attorney.

Manziel faces up to one year in state prison and a $4,000 fine if convicted. Dallas County District Attorney Susan Hawk has yet to confirm or release the indictment, but an indictment is likely given that a "no bill" in his case was not issued when the grand jury met on Thursday.

Manziel's ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley, 23, of Fort Worth, was granted a protective order against Manziel in Tarrant County Court in February. She claims he threw her on a bed at Hotel ZaZa in Dallas in January, then forced her into a car while a valet allegedly ignored her pleas for help.

"He hit me with his open hand on my left ear for jumping out of the car," Crowley's four-page affidavit said. "I realized immediately I could not hear out of that ear, and I still cannot today."

Crowley said she was worried Manziel was on drugs or having a "psychotic break" and claimed he said he was going to kill himself as he drove her back to her apartment in Fort Worth.

"I stated crying even more and he told me 'Shut up or I'll kill us both," the affidavit said. "Then I started begging him not to kill me and he immediately responded, 'I would never kill you. You don't deserve that. I would only kill myself!' He was not making sense."

Manziel's attorney, Bob Hinton of Dallas, said his client will plead not guilty and said he could not yet address if Manziel is seeking more treatment for alcohol use.

"We are not asking for any special treatment," Hinton told The Dallas Morning News Monday morning. "Johnny is coming around. He is awfully young and he is thrust into the maturation process. It is unfortunate that these circumstances have presented themselves."

Dallas police took the unusual step of referring the misdemeanor case to a grand jury, which typically only hears felony cases.

Known as Johnny Football, Manziel became a household name when he became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012. Wary of his partying after an offseason rehab stint, the Cleveland Browns released Manziel last month after two difficult seasons. Manziel remains a free agent after being successively dropped this year by agents Erik Burkhart and Drew Rosehaus, who demanded he get help.

Manziel said last week that he still hopes to play in the National Football League this year. He thanked "those who really know me and support" him.

"I'm hoping to take care of the issues in front of me right now so I can focus on what I have to do if I want to play in 2016," Manziel told USA Today.

Follow @davejourno

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