In the latest update to the legal situation surrounding Falcons rookie outside linebacker James Pearce Jr., ESPN’s Marc Raimondi and Michael Rothstein note that Pearce’s five pending felony arrest charges will be reduced to three. Pearce has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting an officer with violence to his or her person, while the arrest charge of felony aggravated stalking was reduced to a misdemeanor.
The fifth original arrest charge of aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer was dropped from his slate. According to Andy Slater of Fox Sports South Florida, the charge was dropped because prosecutors determined “there wasn’t enough evidence” on police body cam footage to charge Pearce with a felony that could carry a prison sentence of five years.
An arrest was made in February after an incident in which Pearce crashed his car while fleeing police. The episode stemmed from an alleged domestic dispute between Pearce and WNBA player Rickea Jackson. An NFL investigation was opened shortly thereafter, and it remains ongoing at this time.
As Raimondi and Rothstein detailed earlier this month, Pearce was the subject of at least seven 9-1-1- calls regarding Jackson and allegations of domestic disturbances prior to the incident which resulted in his arrest. Police records indicate numerous instances when Jackson reported feeling unsafe with respect to stalking and harassment on the part of Pearce in the months leading up to his arrest. A petition for a protective order was filed shortly after Pearce’s arrest, per the ESPN’s pair.
According to the court filing, Pearce “verbally and physically abused” Jackson on multiple occasions. It also states Pearce “threatened to kill, harm and injure” Jackson and “place a bag over her head.” The initial protection request was granted. A permanent injunction hearing is scheduled for April 21.
“Those are concerning, to say the least,” new Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said of the allegations (via Raimondi) during his latest remarks on the Pearce situation. ” Outside of that, I’ll keep it similar to what we said at the Combine. We’re not going to comment on an ongoing investigation.”
After selecting Jalon Walker in the first round of the 2025 draft, the Falcons traded back into the Day 1 order to select Pearce. The 22-year-old was a Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist with 10.5 sacks as part of a substantial turnaround in terms of pass rush production for Atlanta. Pearce’s rookie contract runs through 2028.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
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