Darron Lee, a former first-round linebacker for the New York Jets, was arrested Monday night on charges of domestic violence and assault, per The Columbus Dispatch and records from the Franklin County Municipal Court.
Lee is facing two counts each of misdemeanor domestic violence and misdemeanor assault. One pair of charges stems from an October 17 incident, another comes from a Monday incident.
Lee is currently being held at Franklin County jail with a Tuesday morning court appearance. His bond was set at $20,000. He must stay away from the two alleged victims should he post bail.
Per the Dispatch,
“Court records said officers were called after Lee reportedly punched the woman multiple times in the head during an argument. Both the female relative and the mother of Darron Lee’s child called police to report the incident.
According to a signed affidavit by Columbus police, the female relative told officers that Lee’s girlfriend had expressed concerns to her on Monday about not feeling safe around Lee. The relative had gone to speak with him in an upstairs bedroom of the home and tell him that he needed to leave the home.
Lee initially told police that the relative hit him first, but later recanted and said that discoloration on his cheek was a skin condition, according to court records.
The relative told officers that Lee became upset when she told him to leave and began yelling at her before grabbing her shirt and shoving her into a wall multiple times.
The investigation Monday also led police to learn about the alleged incident back on October 17, 2022 involving Lee and the mother of his child, an argument that began with Lee believing the woman cheated on him.
“(The woman) was laying on the bed and Darron got on top of her, with his knees making contact with her knees, and his left hand on her neck where it remained for approximately 60 seconds,” court records said. “During this time, (the woman) advised that Darron told her that he would kill her and their child.”
Lee was taken with the 20th overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Jets. He played just three seasons in New York before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. In 2020, he spent time with the Buffalo Bills before ending up in Las Vegas in 2021.
