New Seahawks pass rusher Aldon Smith turns himself in, is released on bond in Louisiana
Aldon Smith turned himself in to authorities in Louisiana and is free on bond after an alleged battery at a coffee shop in Louisiana last weekend.
The Seahawks’ newly signed defensive end and former All-Pro pass rusher with the San Francisco 49ers, who was out of the NFL suspended for the 2016 through ‘19 seasons, turned himself in to a jail just east of New Orleans shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday. That is according to a statement the office of St. Bernard Sheriff James Pohlmann in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, provided to The News Tribune Wednesday morning.
“The St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office booked Aldon Smith April 20 with second degree battery in connection with an incident that occurred April 17 in Chalmette,” the sheriff’s statement said.
A warrant for Smith’s arrest went out Sunday. That was one day after an incident in which the district attorney there alleges Smith assaulted a man outside the French Press Coffee Shop in suburban Chalmette.
The sheriff’s office said Smith, 31, turned himself in to St. Bernard Parish Prison shortly before 7 p.m. Central Time Tuesday. He was booked and released on $25,000 bond, pending further investigation and court proceedings.
“On the evening of April 17, 2021 at the French Press Coffee House in Chalmette, Louisiana, Mr. Smith caused severe injuries to a male victim causing injuries that warranted a state court Judge to sign an arrest warrant,” a St. Bernard Parish district attorney’s office news release stated Monday.
The news release stated anyone convicted in the parish on a charge of second degree battery could be fined up to $2,000 “or imprisoned, with or without hard labor for not more than eight years, or both.”
The incident at the coffee shop about seven miles east of downtown New Orleans allegedly occurred two days after the Seahawks signed Smith as a free agent to a one-year contract with a league-minimum base salary of $910,000.
The Seahawks released a statement Monday: “We are aware of the reports regarding Aldon Smith. Aldon notified us and we are gathering more information. We have no further comment at this time.”
St. Bernard Parish District Attorney Perry Nicosia told ESPN’s Mike Triplett that Smith allegedly choked his male accuser unconscious.
NBC Sports and Pro Football Talk reported Smith and other family members went to the coffee shop to talk to the husband of Smith’s pregnant sister after an alleged altercation between the two. NBC reported Smith contends he did not touch his accuser.
The 2012 All Pro had 19 1/2 sacks that season for San Francisco. Smith returned to the NFL last fall with the Dallas Cowboys after four years out of the league on suspensions
He had four sacks in his first three games with Dallas. That included three of Russell Wilson in a September game in Seattle. He had one sack over the final three months of last season, and the Cowboys chose to let his contract with them expire.
The Seahawks’ non-guaranteed contract Smith signed Thursday carries next to no risk for the team. They can cut him at any time without financial obligation.
The NFL is likely to investigate Smith and this alleged incident. Commissioner Roger Goodell has the power to suspend any player for violations of the league’s personal conduct policy, regardless of the legal disposition of cases such as these.
Signing Smith was a quintessential Pete Carroll/Seahawks move. The veteran coach believes he can by force of personality and team culture extract the unique skills of each player. Smith fits the pattern: a checkered past that caused other NFL teams to give up on a talented guy.
In 2018 Smith pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges in a deal with San Francisco prosecutors from a domestic violence case. Smith pleaded no contest to violating a court order and false imprisonment. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation. Smith was allowed to serve the sentence at an inpatient alcohol and drug treatment center, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
He’s been fined more than $4.7 million over his career, per spotrac.
Smith had 33 1/2 sacks in his first two NFL seasons, with San Francisco. He’s had 19 sacks in 43 games since 2012, but has only played in four of the last eight years.
The NFL reinstated Smith before the 2020 season. Before that he hadn’t played for anyone since the Raiders in 2015.
In 2014, the league suspended Smith nine games for violating its policies for personal conduct and substance abuse. In August 2015, the 49ers released their seventh-overall pick in the 2011 draft following his arrest on charges of hit and run, driving under the influence and vandalism.
His comeback story seemed to be moving to Seattle.
Now it’s on hold in Louisiana.
This story was originally published April 21, 2021 at 10:22 AM.
