An NBA star who plays for the Charlotte Hornets pleaded not guilty to three felony domestic violence charges during his in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Miles Bridges has been accused of assaulting his girlfriend in front of their two children last month. The three felony charges were filed this week by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon.
In a news release Tuesday, Gascon said his office filed one felony count of injuring a child's parent and two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
According to the DA's release, the case "includes an allegation of causing great bodily injury on the domestic violence victim." The release noted that the children were present for the alleged assault but did not otherwise specify what the child abuse counts stemmed from.
The news release says the alleged assault on Bridge's girlfriend happened in front of their two children on or about June 27 and 28, according to the criminal complaint.
Bridges was arrested on June 29 by Los Angeles police and released on a $130,000 bond. The Hornets and NBA have both said they were aware of the charges, and the league has said it is investigating the allegations against the star player.
Bridges, who is 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds, was the Hornets' leading scorer last season and he has played four seasons in the NBA.
Before his arrest, the Hornets had extended Bridges a qualifying offer, which allows them a chance to match any offer sheet he signs with another team. It is unclear what Bridge's future now holds that he is facing these severe criminal charges.
Bridges' case was continued to Aug. 19, when a date for a preliminary hearing is slated to be scheduled.
Bridges' girlfriend, who has been identified as Mychelle Johnson, reportedly posted photos of the injuries she said she suffered at the hands of Bridges, but the Instagram account was no longer up as of Wednesday morning. Johnson said in the posts she could no longer be silenced, and that she had been choked and beaten by the father of her two young children.
