Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers acquitted of assault and battery charges
On Friday, New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers was acquitted on assault and battery charges stemming from an arrest in October.
New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers has been acquitted on three charges of domestic violence. Peppers’ case wrapped up Friday afternoon at Quincy District Court, where a jury found him not guilty after deliberating for about an hour.
Peppers, 29, was arrested in October and charged with assault and battery and strangulation after a woman alleged he pushed her down the stairs of his home in Braintree. That woman testified on Thursday with Peppers testifying on Friday. Peppers denied assaulting the woman, and his defense included video he took during the incident.
“This was the first time in my life where football wasn’t the most important thing on my mind,” Peppers said to reporters outside the courthouse after the verdict. “I had to just sit through everybody pouring dirt on my name. Everybody, for the most part, actually thinking that I did these things. But, to me, crimes against children and women are the most egregious things that you could do. And to be accused of that, it just hurt.”
Peppers was also charged with possession of a class “B” substance (cocaine) in that October arrest. Peppers pleaded guilty to the cocaine charge earlier this week. The charge will be dropped if he remains drug-free and undergoes regular drug testing through the NFL’s substance abuse program.
Following his arrest in October Peppers was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list and missed eight games this past season. He returned in December, but then missed the end of the season due to a hamstring injury.
Last summer the Patriots signed Peppers to a three-year, $30 million contract extension. The deal runs through the end of the 2027 season. Peppers first joined the Patriots as a free agent in 2022.