Joe Mixon warms up before a game against the Buffalo Bills, on Monday, January 2, 2023, in Cincinnati. Jeff Dean/AP CNN —
Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon was found not guilty Thursday on an aggravated menacing charge, according to a spokesperson with the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts and court records.
The charge comes from a January 21 incident in Hamilton County when Mixon allegedly pointed a gun at someone and said, “You should be popped in the face. I should shoot you, the police can’t get me,” CNN previously reported.
The alleged incident happened one day before the Bengals defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-10 in Orchard Park, New York. The Bengals made it to the AFC Championship game the next week, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs 23-20.
The Cincinnati Bengals released a statement Thursday saying they were “pleased that this matter is now behind everyone.”
Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon before the NFL divisional playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills on January 22, 2023 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Sam Greene/The Enquirer/USA Today Network
“Since he joined the organization in 2017, Joe Mixon has been a valuable part of the Cincinnati Bengals,” the team said. “The organization is pleased that this matter is now behind everyone, and we look forward to an exciting season with Joe being an important part of the football team.”
Peter Schaffer, Mixon’s agent, also praised the decision in an emailed statement to CNN.
“Knowing the facts, knowing Joe as a person and having tremendous faith in the legal systems ability to get to the truth we had no doubt of the eventual outcome,” he said. “This vindicates joe as a person and that is what’s most important.”
Mixon has had legal trouble before. While at the University of Oklahoma, he was suspended for one season after taking an Alford plea – when a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction – in a 2014 case in which he was accused of punching a woman.
Mixon received a one-year deferred sentence, according to KFOR-TV, meaning he didn’t serve any time. He also was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, ordered to undergo counseling and faced roughly $1,200 in fines.
CNN’s Jillian Martin contributed to this report.