Falcons' Pearce enters pretrial intervention after domestic incident charges
Falcons first-round pick Pearce enters pretrial intervention after felony domestic incident charges.
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James Pearce Jr. Legal Case
Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr., the 26th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, agreed to enter a six-month pretrial intervention program on April 23, 2026, to resolve felony charges stemming from a February 7, 2026 domestic incident. Upon successful completion, charges including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, resisting an officer with violence, and stalking will be dismissed. The NFL is reviewing the case separately for possible disciplinary action.
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2026-08-18 to 2026-11-15 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 24 Apr, 03:36 UTC
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What happened
James Pearce Jr. was 26th overall pick in 2025 NFL Draft
The Atlanta Falcons selected James Pearce Jr. as the 26th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, Pearce led Atlanta with 10.5 sacks and recorded 45 quarterback pressures, setting a Falcons rookie record.
NFL places James Pearce case under Personal Conduct Policy review
The NFL announced it is reviewing the case of James Pearce Jr. for possible discipline under the league's Personal Conduct Policy due to the felony charges and domestic incident.
Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. enters pretrial intervention program
James Pearce Jr., edge rusher for the Atlanta Falcons, agreed to enter a six-month pretrial intervention program to resolve felony charges stemming from a February 7 incident. Upon completion of the program without violation, the state will dismiss all felony and misdemeanor charges. Pearce was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, resisting an officer with violence, and stalking.
James Pearce incident details emerge from police account
According to police records, on February 7, Rickea Jackson told authorities she attempted to drive away from James Pearce and was driving toward the Doral police station to seek help when Pearce intentionally collided into the rear of her vehicle with his SUV. Pearce allegedly refused an initial police order to get on the floor and subsequently drove away, hitting a police officer's left knee with his vehicle in an attempt to evade arrest.
Felony charges filed against James Pearce in domestic incident
On March 13, the Florida State Attorney's Office in Miami-Dade County filed felony charges against James Pearce including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting an officer with violence. A misdemeanor stalking charge was also brought. The charges stemmed from a February 7 incident involving his ex-girlfriend Rickea Jackson, a WNBA player. An additional charge of aggravated battery of an officer was dropped.
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