Former NBA star JR Smith was arrested in Texas on a family violence assault charge after police stopped his vehicle Monday afternoon, according to authorities and jail records.
Smith, whose legal name is Earl Joseph Smith III, was taken into custody on a warrant issued out of Southlake, Texas. He was booked into the Hunt County Detention Center on a charge listed as “assault caused bodily injury family violence.”
Royse City police said officers were alerted Monday that a wanted individual was traveling eastbound on Interstate 30. An officer located the vehicle, checked its license plate and initiated a traffic stop.
“The wanted person was Earl Joseph [JR] Smith III and the charge was for Family Violence Assault Causing Bodily Injury,” police said in a Tuesday press release. “A traffic stop was conducted and the driver of the vehicle was identified as Earl Joseph Smith III. The warrant was confirmed and Mr. Smith was taken into custody.”
Smith’s brother was reportedly traveling with him when the arrest occurred.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed the circumstances behind the original allegation, including the identity of the alleged victim or when the incident allegedly occurred. The Southlake Police Department acknowledged the case but did not provide additional information about what led investigators to seek the warrant.
Smith did not have an attorney listed on the Hunt County judicial website at the time of the reporting. The charge remains an allegation, and Smith is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The arrest brings renewed attention to Smith years after his memorable 16-season NBA career came to an end.
Smith entered the league straight out of high school in 2004 and developed into a productive scorer and three-point shooter. He played for the New Orleans Hornets, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 12.4 points per game during his NBA career.
He won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Knicks in 2013 and later became an important piece of the Cavaliers team that completed its historic comeback against the Golden State Warriors to win the 2016 NBA championship. Smith earned a second championship with the Lakers in 2020.
His career also produced more than its share of unusual moments. Smith was fined for untying opponents’ shoelaces during games and was suspended by Cleveland in 2018 after throwing a bowl of soup at assistant coach Damon Jones.
Smith also previously served jail time following a 2007 New Jersey automobile crash that killed his friend Andre Bell. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was sentenced to jail in 2009.
After leaving professional basketball, Smith took an unusual route back to school. He enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University, joined the historically Black university’s golf team and pursued a college degree after entering the NBA without attending college. He later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies.
Now, instead of basketball or golf, Smith faces a potentially serious legal matter in Texas.
The details behind the family violence allegation remain limited, leaving the arrest warrant and police statements as the primary public information available about the case.
Leave a Comment