Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler has been charged with three misdemeanors -- including first-degree battery -- stemming from his arrest in July, according to court records obtained by NFL.com.
Fowler was formally charged Aug. 10 with battery, criminal mischief and petit theft in connection to his July 18 arrest in St. Petersburg, Florida. His arraignment in Clearwater, Florida, is scheduled for Sept. 11 -- one day after the Jaguars' regular-season opener against the Houston Texans.
Per police records obtained by NFL.com, Fowler was seen punching a man after a "brief verbal confrontation" in a St. Petersburg parking lot. Fowler then stepped on the man's glasses, "breaking a lens," according to the report.
Florida State prosecutor Bernie McCabe's office alleges Fowler intentionally caused bodily harm against the individual in addition to "willfully and maliciously" damaging the man's property.
If convicted on all counts, Fowler could face up to a year in jail. He also is subject to possible discipline under the NFL's personal conduct policy.
"I just wanted to let people know and everybody know that's not me as a person, I'm a better person than that and it won't happen again," Fowler said at the start of training camp last month. "Like I told [executive vice president] Tom [Coughlin], 'I'm very sorry.' I told him that I apologize and I can't make the organization look like that and put us in situations like that because that's not us, that's not how we are as a team, and that's not how we are as an organization."
This isn't the first time Fowler has been in legal trouble. He was arrested on misdemeanor assault and resisting arrest charges in Miami Beach in March 2016, per Miami-Dade County Court records. He eventually entered a diversion program and the case was closed in December.
In addition, the NFL and Jaguars reviewed Fowler's actions from a video which surfaced in February 2016 that appeared to show him watching two women as they fought. Fowler later apologized.
A third-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Fowler, 23, saw his entire rookie season wiped away by a knee injury. The former Florida star returned in 2016 to post four sacks and 32 tackles, ranking 73rd among edge rushers, per Pro Football Focus.
