James Pearce Jr. arrest: Falcons edge rusher faces three felonies, one misdemeanor
Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. faces three felony charges and one misdemeanor following his Feb. 7 arrest, which stemmed from a domestic dispute between him and his ex-girlfriend, Los Angeles Sparks star Rickea Jackson.
A Florida state prosecutor brought charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police and resisting a police officer with violence against his person against Pearce while also upgrading a charge of aggravated stalking to a misdemeanor, according to a court document obtained by ESPN. The prosecutor dropped a charge of aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer.
Pearce “maintains his innocence and urges the public to understand that while the allegations have the power to shape a narrative, it is not the complete and complete story,” his legal team told ESPN on Thursday.
Jackson told police the incident happened shortly after she and Pearce ended their relationship. Pearce reportedly contacted Jackson before the incident, although she blocked his phone number and asked him to leave her alone.
The criminal complaint says Pearce followed Jackson in a white Lamborghini SUV. When she stopped at a red light, Pearce got out of his SUV and attempted to open Jackson’s driver’s side door. Jackson drove off in the direction of the Doral Police Department, and Pearce continued to follow her, at one point colliding with the rear of her vehicle. Pearce then cut Jackson off at an intersection near the police station and collided head-on with her vehicle as she tried to flee.
A police officer pointed a gun at Pearce when he arrived at the scene and ordered him to the ground. Pearce, who was standing in front of his SUV, got into the vehicle and closed the door. The officer opened the door, but Pearce closed it, locked it and fled the scene. As he drove away, Pearce allegedly struck a police officer in the left knee with his SUV.
Pearce then crashed the vehicle, fled the scene on foot and resisted arrest when police caught up with him.
Authorities incarcerated Pearce at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County, where he posted $20,500 bond and was released on February 8. He faces a conditional pretrial dismissal order for Jackson, who said in a petition for a protective order that she thought “James is going to kill me.”
Jackson said in the petition that she became increasingly fearful for her safety after she tried to break up with Pearce in the weeks before the incident because she believed he was cheating on her and because tensions rose during a confrontation in January. She said Pearce offered her “up to $75,000” to visit him and “$200,000 to stay in contact with him” hours before his arrest.
Police also responded to at least seven 911 calls between November and February from an unidentified girlfriend of Pearce, who feared she was being stalked and harassed.
The court granted Jackson’s request for protection and set a permanent injunction hearing for April 21.
