Falcons’ James Pearce Jr. charged with three felonies: What we know

Atlanta Falcons Defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. has been charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor in connection with a Feb. 7 incident involving WNBA player Rickea Jackson.

By circuit court documentsMiami-Dade County (Florida) District Attorney Katherine Rundle brought the following charges against Pearce:

Aggravated deadly weapon charges (felony)
Fleeing and evading the police (crime)
Resisting a police officer with violence (crime)

Two other charges of aggravated battery and aggravated stalking were dropped.

Jackson filed for protection order earlier this week and said she “feared for my life” and thought “James was going to kill me” after the Feb. 7 incident in which Pearce allegedly drove his vehicle into hers as she tried to flee from a police station in Doral, Florida.

Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez said Pearce crashed the vehicle he was driving after fleeing the scene of an argument at Doral police headquarters.

Pearce was arrested that day on two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, one count of aggravated harassment, fleeing and eluding police officers and aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer. He was released a day later on $20,500 bail.

THE Falcons released the following statement after his release:

“We are aware of an incident involving James Pearce Jr., in Miami. We are in the process of gathering more information and will have no further comment on an open legal matter at this time.”

Jackson separately filed notice that she would testify against Pearce in court proceedings. A hearing for his request for protection is scheduled for April 21. Pearce is not allowed to contact Jackson or be within 500 feet of her, her vehicle, her home or her place of work.

Both Jackson and Pearce were star athletes at the University of Tennessee; Jackson on the women’s basketball team, Pearce on the football team. Jackson was selected No. 4 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the The Sparks of Los Angeles. Pearce was drafted 26th overall by the Falcons in the 2025 NFL Draft.

This story will be updated with more information when it becomes available.

This article was originally published on USA TODAY: James Pearce Jr. updates as Falcons DL faces 3 felonies