Johnny Manziel Reportedly Indicted, Again, By Dallas County Grand Jury For Repeatedly Hitting His Girlfriend [Breaking]

A breaking news report from CBS-DFW is claiming that sources within the Dallas County District Attorney’s office are reporting that former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel has been indicted by a Dallas County Grand Jury on a charge of misdemeanor assault with bodily injury.

The jury reviewed evidence in the assault case against Manziel on Thursday, April 21, brought against him by his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley. Crowley’s case alleges that while driving her back to her home in Fort Worth from an uptown Dallas bar, Manziel hit her several times.

Police reports indicate that Crowley attempted to jump out of the moving car and run away, but Manziel stopped and dragged her back into the car before hitting her again.

The report also indicates that she begged the valet at Hotel Zaza to “please don’t let him take me,” and that she was “scared for my life!” The valet didn’t know what to do, and let them go; according to Crowley, they drove out to her car, and both got in – against her will.

“He grabbed me by my hair and threw me back into the car and got back in himself. He hit me with his open hand on my left ear for jumping out of the car. I realized immediately that I could not hear out of that ear, and I still cannot today, two days later.”

Rather than arrest Manziel on felony charges, police presented evidence to the grand jury to decide if they would proceed with a misdemeanor case, and sources also indicated that Manziel and Crowley had already arrived at a settlement outside of court. There is no word, however, on what that settlement might be.

Manziel was already charged with domestic abuse against Crowley once in February in what was called a “multi-city incident” – Crowley’s affidavit stated that Manziel had threatened to kill both her and himself, in an incident which once again began in Dallas and ended at her apartment in Fort Worth. According to her report, he struck her so hard on the side of the head that she lost hearing in one ear.

The judge in the February case awarded her a restraining order, preventing Manziel from approaching her, or within 500 feet of her apartment. It also restricts him from owning a firearm during that period and requires him to pay $12,500 in legal fees.

In light of the restraining order, it is unknown how Crowley and Manziel came to be in each other’s company once again.

Manziel’s track record doesn’t start or end there, however. He was dropped by the Cleveland Browns in March as they cited not only inconsistent play, but problems with drinking and partying, sufficient to make headlines, off the field – and last Tuesday, he was fired by his second agent in two months, Drew Rosenhaus. His first agent, Erik Burkhardt, fired him in February. Meanwhile, he’s losing sponsors as well; he had already been dropped by Nike, and Panini joined them last week.

And now even his lawyer, Jim Darnell, says that he expects Manziel to be indicted, although he continues to assert Manziel’s innocence.

“Johnny will certainly plead ‘not guilty’ and we believe the evidence will support that plea. Out of respect for Ms. Crowley, we will not try the case in the press. We do, however, believe that Johnny will be acquitted at the conclusion of the case.”

Given that it’s his second time in court for a crime he’s already been convicted of, one has to give Darnell credit for keeping a straight face while saying it.

The NFL is also investigating the incident independently, according to CNN, and he could potentially be facing a league-wide suspension for having violated the personal conduct policy.

Whatever happens, Johnny Manziel fans may want to prepare to not see him back on the field for quite some time.

[Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images]