After his arrest on Friday in Las Vegas, former All-Pro running back Larry Johnson has now been arrested five different times after allegations of violence toward women. But Johnson insists the latest allegation against him is bogus.
“I know people will try to pass judgment on me from my previous record but I didn’t do what I am being charged with,” Johnson told TMZ.
In court, Johnson is of course due the same presumption of innocence that every criminal defendant is entitled to receive. But Johnson’s past history makes it hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.
In 2003, Johnson was charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor domestic battery, but those charges were dropped when he agreed to enter a domestic violence diversion program. In 2005, he was arrested for assaulting a woman, but that charge was dropped when the woman didn’t appear in court to testify against him. In 2008, he was arrested once in February when a woman accused him of shoving her and once in October when a woman accused him of spitting in her face. Johnson pleaded guilty to two counts of disturbing the peace as part of a plea deal on both of those accusations.
Now Johnson is accused of choking a woman in a Las Vegas hotel. And Johnson is right: People will pass judgment on him for his previous record.