Johnny Manziel indicted by a grand jury on a charge of assault related to family violence

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Johnny Manziel has been indicted on a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from an incident involving his ex-girlfriend, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this week, Manziel’s defense attorney confirmed that Manziel would be indicted.

According to the report, Manziel has been indicted on charge of misdemeanor assault related to family violence. He faces up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine if convicted, according to the AP.

Manziel’s attorney, Jim Darnell, released a statement on teh indictment (via ESPN):

“We certainly respect the decision of the grand jury but of course they only hear part of the case: What the D.A. chooses to share with them. We don’t know what that was,” the statement said. “This case will now be assigned to a court in Dallas County where the parties are able to join the issue. Johnny will certainly plead ‘not guilty’ and we believe the evidence will support that plea. Out of respect for Ms. Crowley, we will not try the case in the press. We do, however, believe that Johnny will be acquitted at the conclusion of the case.”

A police report released by the Fort Worth Police Department in February said Manziel was involved in a conflict with Colleen Crowley, his ex-girlfriend, that began at a hotel in Dallas and continued in a car and at her apartment. Via ESPN:

According to the police report, parts of which were blacked out, Manziel and his ex-girlfriend left the hotel after he struck her. Manziel drove them to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Fort Worth. The ex-girlfriend told officers that she and Manziel shouted angrily at each other, going back and forth during the drive, and that he struck her several more times.

According to sources for WFAA in Dallas, Crowley’s affidavit says that during the drive to the apartment, Manziel said “he was going to drop me off, take my car, and go kill himself” and later told her to “shut up or I’ll kill us both.”

Manziel denied the incident to TMZ sports, saying “it did not happen.”

The charge in this case comes after Manziel has been dropped by two agents in the past three months.

Manziel’s close confidant Nate Fitch sent out an ominous message on Twitter on Sunday in which he appeared to say he was “desperate to help” Manziel and that not hearing from the fallen football star was “terrifying.”

We have reached out to Manziel’s attorney for comment.