Falcons DE James Pearce Jr. charged with three felonies, one misdemeanor
Atlanta Falcons defensive end James Pearce Jr. was charged Thursday with three felonies and one misdemeanor by the Miami-Dade (Florida) State Attorney for an incident on Feb. 7 involving WNBA player Rikea Jackson, according to circuit court documents.
Pearce, 22, is charged with felony counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding the police and resisting an officer with violence, as well as a misdemeanor count of stalking.
He was originally faced with a second count of aggravated battery and a charge of aggravated stalking, which were dropped.
Jackson, Pearce’s ex-girlfriend, told police she attempted to drive away from Pearce and was driving to the Doral police station when Pearce “intentionally” crashed into her vehicle.
Pearce is alleged to have refused an initial order from police to “get on the floor” after officers responded to a domestic dispute call. Pearce then drove away, hitting an officer’s leg intentionally to avoid arrest, according to police.
Pearce, per the police, then crashed his vehicle and attempted to elude police on foot before he was apprehended.
Pearce was released from custody Feb. 8 on a $20,500 bond.
Following Pearce’s arrest, the Falcons released a statement that read: “We are in the process of gathering more information and will not have any further comment on an open legal matter at this time.”
Pearce was selected with the 26th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. He was an AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist after recording 26 tackles and 10.5 sacks.
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