The domestic charge battery against Nick Gordon has officially been dropped.
The domestic charge battery against Nick Gordon has been dropped.
Gordon was arrested on March 10 in Seminole, Florida, on a charge of domestic violence, after his girlfriend, Laura Leal, alleged he struck her in the face while she was driving, which he denied. Gordon was arrested again on March 19 for violating the no-contact order in place to protect Leal.
According to the Seminole County State Attorney’s Office on Thursday, prosecutors met with Leal, who they say under oath denied being struck or touched against her will by Gordon. The attorney's office also says Leal wrote a letter to a judge, contradicting her original statements made to law enforcement at the time of the incident, which placed question to any potential future testimony that she could offer at trial. With no independent witnesses to the incident, prosecutors did not have a good faith basis on which to proceed to trial.
However, Gordon was also charged with a violation of the conditions of his pretrial release on March 19. That case remains open and under review, pending a filing decision.
According to the arresting officer at the time of the incident between Gordon and Leal earlier this month, Leal had a visible injury, including a slightly swollen bottom lip with dried blood. Leal stated that she picked up Gordon from a bar, and alleged that while she was driving, Gordon struck her in the right side of her cheek area several times. Leal also claimed that he pulled her hair, and said that he should make her wreck the vehicle.
Meanwhile, also according to the officer, Gordon denied hitting Leal and stated that he just wanted her to leave his residence after he alleged that she ripped his shirt and threw a bottle at him. Gordon claimed Leal attacked him for no reason, and that she is “crazy,” though he did not want to pursue any charges against her. Gordon also stated that the two had been drinking alcohol.
Leal refused medical attention at the time and refused to press charges against Gordon, whom she said she's been dating for the past six months. She also refused to complete any domestic violence paperwork.
Gordon has been in the headlines since the death of his ex-girlfriend, the late Bobbi Kristina Brown, in July 2015. No criminal charges were ever filed against Gordon in relation to Brown's death. He was found liable for her wrongful death in a civil court in September 2016.
-- Reporting by Steve Wilks
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