Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler has been charged with misdemeanor counts of battery, criminal mischief, and petty theft as the result of a July incident that ended with his arrest, reports Chris Parenteau of News 4 Jacksonville.
His arraignment is set for Sept. 11, the day after the Jaguars’ season opener against the Texans. The team had practice on Monday and Fowler was at the team’s facility, but he did not participate.
Fowler was arrested on July 18 in St. Petersburg, Fla., following an altercation with another person, as reported at the time by the Tampa Bay Times. He posted a $650 bond and was released at 1:43 a.m. the next day. Fowler is a native of the area.
The team released a statement following his arrest:
Statement from #Jaguars on Dante Fowler #ASJax pic.twitter.com/6giha0OSuu
— Brent Martineau (@BrentASJax) July 19, 2017
The Times’ Greg Auman said the charges stemmed from an altercation Fowler allegedly had with a man who was walking through a St. Petersburg apartment complex. The man reportedly criticized Fowler’s driving, and Fowler got out of his car, hit the man, and stepped on his glasses.
That explains the simple battery. And this explains the mischief charge.
Police say Dante Fowler then took victim's grocery bag, with "recently purchased liquor," and threw it in a lake.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 19, 2017
Jacksonville selected Fowler out of Florida with the third overall pick in the 2015 draft. He tore his ACL on the first day of minicamp and missed his entire rookie season. Last year, Fowler contributed 32 tackles, four sacks, and five pass breakups.