Chad Johnson has history of domestic violence prior to arrest
Former NFL star Chad Johnson is apparently not a stranger to domestic battery — because media outlet TMZ reported that the football player was secretly found guilty of assaulting a woman back in 2000 — 12 years before he allegedly struck again, this time with his new wife, Evelyn Lozada.
According to the court records, Chad Johnson has been arrested before on a charge of misdemeanor domestic battery in Los Angeles on February 7, 2000 — just before he began playing football for Oregon State University.
Sources close to the domestic battery case said that the victim was Johnson’s girlfriend at the time, and she told the police that Chad had slapped her in the face after accusing her of having an affair with another guy.
The court records also stated that Chad Johnson — who was 22 years old at the time — pled no contest to the domestic battery charge, and that the court found him guilty.
The football star was subsequently sentenced to three years probation and ordered to serve 45 days in Los Angeles County jail. But then, Johnson was able to strike a deal with the court which allowed him to avoid doing prison time — as long as he completed 30 days of graffiti removal work with CalTrans. At the time, Chad Johnson was also required to complete 12 months of batterer’s counseling program and ordered to stay 100 yards away from his assault victim.
However, court records stated that Johnson did not complete the said probation requirements in a timely manner, blew off the labor, as well as the domestic battery program for years. After a judge tacked on an additional 15 days of graffiti removal, Chad Johnson finally completed his legal obligations in 2002 — the time when he was playing for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Now, the football star is embroiled in a similar domestic battery incident after he was accused of assaulting a woman again — this time, his wife, “Basketball Wives” star Evelyn Lozada — whom he married six weeks ago.
This time, Chad Johnson told the police that he did not do anything wrong. He is expected back in court soon to enter his plea on the case.