CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing over allegations that he threatened and pointed a gun at a woman in Cincinnati earlier this year.
Mixon made his initial court appearance in Hamilton County Municipal Court, where bond was set at $10,000. He was ordered to have no contact with the woman.
A warrant for Mixon was initially issued in February but was dismissed the next day. On April 7, Cincinnati police announced they had refiled the charge "following the discovery of new evidence during the investigative process," but did not provide further details.
When the warrant was issued Feb. 2, a police officer's accompanying affidavit alleged that the 26-year-old pointed a firearm and told the victim: "You should be popped in the face. I should shoot you, the police (can't) get me."
The warrant then also said the altercation happened a few blocks from the Bengals' stadium on Jan. 21 -- the day before Cincinnati beat the Buffalo Bills in a divisional-round playoff game -- but included no other details about the circumstances. The warrant was dismissed in Hamilton County Municipal Court on Feb. 3, with the order saying only that the city prosecutor's office requested the dismissal "in the interest of justice."
Mixon rushed for 814 yards and seven touchdowns this season, his sixth. He also had 60 receptions for 441 yards, both career highs, and two touchdowns. In 2021, he had rushed for career highs of 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns for Cincinnati, where he has spent his entire career.
Mixon was a second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2017. Several teams said they passed on him because of concerns about his character after Mixon punched a female Oklahoma student in the face in 2014.
He was suspended from the Sooners football team for a year and entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction. He received a deferred sentence and was ordered to perform community service and undergo counseling.
Copyright 2023 by The Associated Press
