Criminal summons issued for Hornets' Bridges

A criminal summons was issued Wednesday for Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges for violating a domestic violence protective order, misdemeanor child abuse and injury to personal property, according to a copy of the summons obtained by ESPN.

The alleged incident that led to the summons being issued occurred around 9 p.m. on Oct. 6 at Bridges’ private residence in Charlotte, according to a police report obtained by ESPN. The criminal summons itself describes a series of events during a custody exchange between Bridges, 25, and his former girlfriend, with whom he has two children.

Bridges is accused of throwing billiard balls at her vehicle while the children were inside it, smashing the windshield and leaving dents in the car, according to the summons. He is also accused in the summons of threatening her that if she “told the police he would take everything from her and withhold child support” and that he “allowed his current girlfriend to yell, scream and kick the victim’s car while the children were inside it.” The summons does not say if the woman was in the car.

There also is an unserved arrest warrant for the Bridges, which was first issued on Jan. 2, for violating the domestic violence protective order, according to a Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. The warrant was not immediately available because, as of Wednesday night, it had not yet been served.

According to the summons, a hearing on the matter is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2023, at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse in Charlotte.

“We are aware of the reports and are in the process of gathering more information,” a Hornets spokesperson said.

Attorneys representing Bridges didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In November, Bridges pleaded no contest to a felony domestic violence charge and was sentenced to three years of probation, but no jail time, as part of a deal with prosecutors after being accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend in front of their two children in May 2022. The no-contest plea meant Bridges accepted the conviction and punishment without formally admitting guilt.

As part of that deal, Bridges was ordered to obey the terms of a 10-year protective order, which included staying 100 yards away from and having no contact with the woman in the case. He also was required to complete 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling and 52 weeks of parenting classes, serve 100 hours of community service and undergo weekly narcotics testing, while not being allowed to own any guns, ammunition or weapons.

In April, the NBA issued a 30-game suspension without pay for Bridges, with 20 games already served, as he sat out last season. The suspension meant that Bridges, who in July signed a one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer to return to the Hornets, wouldn’t play in the first 10 games of the coming regular season. Bridges also isn’t playing in the preseason.

In July, after signing the qualifying offer, Bridges made his first public comments on the matter, saying, “I want to apologize to everybody for the pain and embarrassment that I have caused everyone, especially my family. This year away I’ve used to prioritize going to therapy and becoming the best person I can be — someone that my family and everyone here can be proud of.”