Fox News Flash top sports headlines for January 3
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A Kansas judge on Wednesday approved prosecutors’ motion to drop three felony charges against Jackson Mahomes.
Mahomes, the brother of Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, faced three felony aggravated sexual battery charges along with a misdemeanor battery charge. The latter charge may end up going to trial, according to FOX 4 KC.
The social media influencer appeared in a Johnson County courtroom for a preliminary hearing where the judge ruled in his favor.
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Jackson Mahomes on the sidelines before an NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on Nov 20, 2023 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The alleged victim at the center of the case planned to assert her Fifth Amendment rights if she was compelled to testify, the station reported Tuesday, citing court documents.
Prosecutors said the alleged victim would tell the court she was not truthful to authorities and the 2023 encounter with the TikTok star was consensual even if immunity was offered.
Prosecutors "were prepared to proceed with the case because victims recant or become uncooperative for a host of reasons and that does not mean that the original account to law enforcement was inaccurate," Assistant District Attorney Megan Ahsens wrote, according to The Kansas City Star.
Jackson Mahomes, seen here on the Chiefs sidelines in January 2023. (Tammy Ljungblad/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
However, Ahsens added that investigators tried to serve subpoenas in the case, but it has become clear that the alleged victim "is actively thwarting attempts to serve her to avoid coming to court.
"Like I said from the beginning, Jackson has done nothing wrong," Mahomes’ attorney Brandon Davies told FOX 4 KC on Wednesday. "We had full confidence that the truth of the matter would ultimately be revealed. The defense will reserve further comment until the remaining count is disposed of."
The alleged victim in the felony battery case is not the same person tied to the misdemeanor battery case, according to prosecutors. Mahomes pleaded not guilty to the charges last year.
Jason Lee, left, and Jackson Mahomes attend Michael Rubin's 2023 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at the Arizona Biltmore on Feb. 11, 2023 in Phoenix. (Rich Polk/Getty Images for Fanatics))
In February, Mahomes was being investigated for allegedly shoving a waiter and forcibly kissing the female owner of an Overland Park restaurant. The owner of the restaurant, Aspen Vaughn, told The Kansas City Star that Mahomes grabbed her by the throat and forcibly kissed her at least twice.
"He forcibly kissed me out of nowhere," Vaughn said, "and I’m telling him, pushing him off saying, ‘What are you doing?’ and then he proceeded to do it two more times, where the last time I was pushing him off, and I can see on the cameras that somebody was outside the office door, and I was yelling for them to come help, because he’s big and massive."
Brittany Mahomes, his sister-in-law, came to Jackson’s defense in April.
"They are ignorant," she said of the people who criticize Jackson. "He is a human just trying to live his life and find his way and until you walk a day in his shoes (which no one ever will) you have no right to say s--- about him."
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She continued, "So it’s best to just shut up."
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