Report: Smael Mondon has reckless driving, racing charges dismissed, will not impact record

Georgia star linebacker Smael Mondon had his reckless driving and racing charges dismissed on Monday, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

Mondon was arrested last month for reckless driving. He was also charged with racing on highways/streets.

The Athens Banner-Herald reports that Mondon’s lawyer reached a plea agreement with the prosecutor. Mondon plead guilty to driving too fast for conditions, while his more serious charges were dismissed.

“I don’t think they could have proved racing or reckless driving,” Billy Healan, who is Mondon’s attorney, told the Athens Banner-Herald. “There just wasn’t a race. Smael took off too fast from a traffic light. He accelerated too quickly. He’s driving a Dodge Hellcat which has very loud exhaust. It’s going to get people’s attention, it’s going to get the police’s attention. Accelerating quickly from a traffic light doesn’t mean you’re racing the person that happens to be you.”

Smael Mondon is one of the top linebackers in the SEC after racking up 68 tackles for Georgia in 2023. He ranked second on the Bulldogs team in stops last season. He was named a second-team All-SEC selection after appearing in 13 games, with 11 starts.

Mondon was ranked as a five-star recruiting coming out of high school, according to the On3 Industry rankings.

He was initially charged with racing Georgia freshman defensive back Demello Jones, who still has charges pending.

Healan insisted to the Athens Banner-Herald that the two were not racing and that Smael Mondon should not have been charged with reckless driving.

“There was no one that was endangered by this. There were no other cars that had to swerve or get out of the way. It simply wasn’t racing and it wasn’t reckless,” he told the Banner-Herald.

The news that Smael Mondon is having his charges dropped comes less than a week after Bulldogs receiver Sacovie White had his reckless driving charges dismissed.

Athens-Clarke County Solicitor General Will Fleenor filed a motion to dismiss on August 6th and Judge Charles Auslander III approved the motion the next day.

“After a careful review of the evidence, including footage from downtown cameras, it is clear the State will not be able to prove Reckless Driving beyond a reasonable doubt,” Fleenor wrote. There was also a second citation that Fleenor dismissed “in the interest of justice.”

Sacovie White was initially arrested in May on charges of reckless driving. They were misdemeanor charges.

According to his initial arrest report, Sacovie White was booked into the jail at 3:04 a.m. and posted a $26 cash bond 16 minutes later. He was then released exactly one hour later at 4:04 a.m. This came after an Athens-Clarke County police officer pulled him over slightly after 2:00 a.m. for allegedly traveling at a “high-rate of speed” the wrong way down Clayton Street while a passenger was hanging out of one of the windows.