Criminal complaint details allegations against Packers RB Josh Jacobs
Brown County Jail GREEN BAY, Wis. (CBS 58) — A newly filed criminal complaint details the allegations against Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs, who is facing two misdemeanor charges stemming from a May disturbance at his Hobart home.
Jacobs, 28, is charged with battery and criminal damage to property, both Class A misdemeanors. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail, a $10,000 fine or both if convicted.
A member of Jacobs' legal team issued a statement Thursday following the filing of the charges.
"The Brown County District Attorney has reviewed evidence and elected to file misdemeanor charges against Josh that do not include domestic violence. The allegations will be addressed in court, and not in the media. Mr. Jacobs respects the District Attorney's office and the process it followed."
According to the complaint, Hobart-Lawrence police were dispatched to Jacobs' residence around 8:37 a.m. May 23 after receiving a report of a disturbance between a man and a woman. Dispatchers reported hearing yelling and swearing on an open 911 line before the call disconnected.
Officers later located the woman at a neighboring residence. She told police she had a lump on her head as a result of Jacobs' actions.
The woman told investigators the incident began after she looked through Jacobs' phone and became upset after seeing he was talking to other women. She said she threw Jacobs' phone, but it was not damaged.
Jacobs had her phone, and when she attempted to retrieve it, she said he grabbed her arm and the two became involved in a physical struggle that lasted several minutes.
According to the complaint, Jacobs later left the home with the woman's phone. She followed him in another vehicle in an attempt to get it back before both eventually returned to the residence.
The woman told police she later retrieved a second phone and attempted to leave through the garage. She alleged Jacobs followed her, grabbed her and threw her to the ground, causing her to hit her head. She said Jacobs then took the phone from her while she was on the ground.
An officer reported observing redness on the woman's face and neck and feeling a bump on the back of her head. She told police she was in pain and said her second phone had been damaged during the incident.
Investigators later recovered electronic devices from Jacobs' residence, including components of a home surveillance system and cellphones belonging to Jacobs and the woman. A forensic examination of the surveillance system took several weeks, according to the complaint.
The complaint says surveillance video from the garage corroborated portions of the woman's account, including the two leaving and returning in separate vehicles and the alleged altercation in the garage.
Investigators said the footage showed Jacobs taking the woman's phone while she was on the garage floor. About 40 seconds later, Jacobs allegedly returned to the garage and appeared to damage the phone. The surveillance footage did not capture any portion of the alleged incident inside the home.
Jacobs was arrested in May following the investigation and was initially booked into the Brown County Jail on several potential charges, including felony strangulation and suffocation.
The criminal complaint filed Thursday charges Jacobs only with battery and criminal damage to property.
Jacobs has played two seasons with the Packers, rushing for 2,258 yards and 28 touchdowns while recording 72 receptions.
He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Nov. 17.