Bengals running back Joe Mixon found not guilty in road rage case

A judge in Cincinnati has found Bengals running back Joe Mixon not guilty of misdemeanor aggravated menacing for which he was charged after a road rage incident in January.

The charge was initially dismissed, then the case was reopened. A 43-year-old woman claimed Mixon pulled a gun on her in a heated dispute on a Cincinnati roadway. He pleaded not guilty of the misdemeanor charge in April.

Following the verdict, Mixon’s agent Peter Schaffer released a statement, via Mike Garafolo.

“Knowing the facts, knowing Joe as a person and having tremendous faith in the legal system’s ability to get to the truth, we had no doubt of the eventual outcome,” Schaffer said. “This vindicates Joe as a person and that is what’s most important. Back to the business of football. huge shout out to both Joe’s legal team and Mark Herron, the Bengals’ security director.”

Mixon named in civil lawsuit over shooting

Mixon is facing a civil lawsuit after a 16-year-old boy was shot on his property in March, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. Both Mixon and Lamonte Brewer, who shot the boy in the right foot, are listed in the lawsuit filed by the boy’s family in Hamilton County Court.

Mixon was never charged in the shooting and was never a suspect. However, the family claims that he supplied both the bullets and the Zastava M92 gun that Brewer used in the shooting. They stated that Mixon has “had many opportunities to settle” but “has taken no responsibility for any of the harm that he has caused.”

Brewer, the boyfriend of Mixon’s sister, Shalonda Mixon, was charged with felonious assault, one count of tampering with evidence and two counts of having weapons while under disability. Shalonda Mixon was charged with tampering with evidence.

Mixon’s trainer, Sean Pena, said in a 911 call at the time of the incident that the boy appeared to be carrying a Kel-Tec gun. However, that turned out to be a toy gun as he was playing a game of “nerf wars” with his friends.

The family suing the running back is claiming negligence, saying that he asked two children what they were doing prior to that shooting. Both children are willing to testify in court regarding the exchange, with the family saying it is “utterly ridiculous” that Mixon could have believed he was in any real danger.

On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this report.