COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee has pleaded guilty to attempted assault and accepted a plea offer in a case involving multiple assault charges. The plea, made Monday, comes nearly two years after his initial arrest and concludes the lengthy legal proceedings.
Lee waived his right to a jury trial, and in exchange, a domestic violence charge against him was dismissed, and an assault charge was reduced to a misdemeanor. The 27-year-old received two years of non-reporting community control and was fined $500. Additionally, Lee is under a no-contact order with the victims involved in the case.
Earlier that day, Lee was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to one day in jail after serving 179 days of a 180-day sentence on the condition of compliance with 12 months of community control.
Lee was initially arrested in April 2023 following two separate incidents of assault involving two different women. The first incident took place in October 2022, and the second in April 2023, with the latter leading to Lee’s arrest. In the April 2023 incident, Lee allegedly threw one woman against a wall, punched her multiple times, and pulled her hair. During the assault, two other women came to the victim’s aid.
In the earlier incident, Lee was accused of choking a woman and threatening to kill her. He also allegedly threw a cell phone at her, which caused injury. Despite the woman breaking free and leaving, the charges were pressed against him, and he was arrested in April 2023.
Lee, a former standout player for the Ohio State Buckeyes, was part of the 2014 national championship-winning team. He was later drafted by the New York Jets in the 2016 NFL Draft and went on to win a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 before spending a season with the Buffalo Bills.
His case, which includes multiple legal issues, has been resolved with the plea deal, closing a chapter on the two-year-long legal proceedings.
