Maurice Jones-Drew incident: What happened?

By Alfie Crow@AlfieBCC May 28, 2013, 5:11pm EDT

It was initially reported earlier on Tuesday afternoon that Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew was charged with misdemeanor battery. The original police report issued by the St. Augustine Police Department noted that Jones-Drew was formally charged with the incident, however that was in error.

Later that afternoon the St. Augustine Police Department issued a revised statement noting that Jones-Drew had not been officially charged, but the investigation was still ongoing.

So how did that get all mucked up?

The wording used in the initial release.

I spoke with a Jacksonville Sherrif's Office officer, who asked to remain unnamed, on the issue.

"What St. Augustine Police Department provided is the copy of the officer's charging affidavit from the incident involving Maurice Jones-Drew. This is the officer's sworn statement of the facts he/she gathered from witness, victims and suspects that causes him to believe a crime has been committed by the suspect(defendant). The officer takes this along with any other reports to the State Attorney's Office (SAO), who will in turn review the case," the JSO officer told Big Cat Country. "If the SAO feels there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed, they will issue a warrant for the suspect's arrest. This will in turn be officially be signed off by a Judge and a bond will be set for the warrant. The arrest warrant gives officers the probable cause to then arrest the suspect for the crime he/she committed. The suspect will then be formally charged at his first arraigment in front of a Judge."

So essentially, as was corrected in a later release, Jones-Drew has yet to be formally charged. The SAO can also grant or deny any warrant, so it does not necessarily mean one will be issued in the matter.

"So based on what is being put out about MJD, they are probably seeking a warrant for his arrest at this time, he hasn't been formally charged with any crime," the JSO officer told Big Cat Country.

There have been some reports that Jones-Drew's camp does not believe an official arrest is in the works and this is likely to wind up a much ado about nothing type of situation.