DENVER – The mother of Jerry Jeudy’s child said at Jeudy's first court appearance Friday morning she wanted the case against him dismissed, as did his attorney, one day after the Broncos receiver’s arrest in Arapahoe County.
The victim, whom Denver7 is not identifying because she is potentially a victim of domestic violence, told the court she did not feel threatened by Jeudy and just wanted deputies to “monitor the situation” when she called them on Thursday morning.
Jeudy’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, had the court acknowledge there was no physical contact between Jeudy and the woman involved, as Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown and police documents noted on Thursday.
Jeudy was arrested for investigation of second-degree criminal tampering, with a domestic violence enhancer, and held without bond because of the enhancer. Brown said the arrest happened too late in the day for the case to be fully processed and for Jeudy to see a judge on Thursday.
The woman had called dispatch asking for deputies to come to the home in unincorporated Arapahoe County for a “keep-the-peace” situation between her and Jeudy, Brown said.
A police document obtained by Denver7 said after an argument on Wednesday night, Jeudy put the woman’s wallet, baby formula, and their 1-month-old child’s medical paperwork in his car and locked it. He said that she had taken one of his phones and would not give it back, and the document said the woman told deputies she was trying to leave for Virginia but could not because she didn’t have her wallet, paperwork or the child’s car seat.
The police document said the woman “does not want to get him in ‘trouble,’ she just wants her items back so she can leave.”
Judge Chantel Contiguglia on Friday imposed a mandatory protection order, but the victim said she did not want the judge to impose a no-contact order. The judge will allow Jeudy to travel, as requested by Steinberg, once he is released after posting the $1,500 personal recognizance bond set Friday.
After the hearing, Steinberg said he would be surprised if the case proceeds much further against Jeudy. He also lamented that Jeudy had to spend the night in jail.
“I don’t believe my client did anything that would rise to the level of a crime, and having someone spend the night in jail because we have this ‘moniker of domestic violence’ that is too broad, applies without any kind of discreetness, which should have applied here,” Steinberg said. “It should only apply where there’s a threat of violence, there’s actual violence, or attempted violence. None of that’s here.”
Steinberg added that since he believes there was no actual threat and since there was no actual violence involved, he feels like the case should be dismissed and not formally charged by prosecutors. But he worries that Jeudy’s reputation was damaged.
“Hopefully people will understand that sometimes bad things happen to good people, and that’s what this case is,” Steinberg said. “I don’t think he should have been arrested. I don’t think he should have been incarcerated, and I think people are going to look at this and come to the same conclusion that I did and say, ‘Boy, this is a bump in the road.’ This is a really, really good guy and we’re sorry this had to happen to him.”
The Broncos said Thursday they were looking further into the incident. Jeudy is expected to post the personal recognizance bond Friday morning. Jeudy is next due back in court on May 31.
Denver7's Veronica Acosta contributed to this report.
