Verdict reached in Jones hit-and-run case; former champ to face no jail time

After months of waiting and conjecture the verdict in the case for former UFC champion Jon Jones’ alleged hit and run incident was today given down. Jones, who broke the arm of the pregnant passenger of the car he hit, was given no jail time but gets up to 18 months probation and 72 youth outreach/charity appearances as his “punishment”.

MMAFighting.com’s Marc Raimondi was live tweeting today’s trail, here are a selection of his tweets from the day.

Lawyer is saying that a felony conviction could affect Jones traveling out of the country for the UFC.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) September 29, 2015

Jones’ lawyer is asking the judge to allow Jones to have one household firearm, because he’s a professional athlete and public figure.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) September 29, 2015

Jones apologizes to the court, to the victim and the officers. He apologizes to his supporters, who he “embarrassed."

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) September 29, 2015

Jones: “I am here to accept full responsibility for my actions. I’m hoping that you guys can give me a chance to redeem myself."

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) September 29, 2015

Judge grants Jones a conditional discharge. Jones gets supervised probation for up to 18 months.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) September 29, 2015

After the trial the UFC released a statement saying “The UFC organization is aware that Jon Jones reached a plea agreement with authorities in Albuquerque, New Mexico this morning stemming from charges associated with a motor vehicle accident earlier this year. As a result, UFC, through Las Vegas-based law firm Campbell & Williams, will thoroughly review the agreement before discussing Jones’ possible reinstatement to return to competition.”

Now, the next step for Jones is staying out of trouble and getting back into the Octagon where the UFC light-heavyweight division he left will be pretty much figured out this weekend as the two men that ran him the hardest, Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson, fight for the belt he was stripped of on Saturday.

Odds are, Jones will probably face the winner.

UPDATE:

Jon Jones has also now released an official statement. It reads; “With regards to today’s decision made by the court, I am very happy to now be able to put this incident behind me. My actions have caused pain and inconvenience in the lives of others and for that I am truly sorry and I accept full responsibility. I have been working hard during this time away from my sport to grow and mature as a man and to ensure that nothing like this happens again. I have learned a great deal from this situation and I am determined to emerge a better person because of it. I apologize to those who were affected by my actions in this incident and I am hopeful that I will be given the opportunity to redeem myself in the eyes of the public, my family and friends as well as my supporters. I am not sure what the future holds for me but I plan to continue to do the work needed to be productive and successful in every aspect of my life.”

Video via Court Chatter View