A Franklin County Municipal Court judge has issued an arrest warrant for former Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee.
Darron Lee’s mugshot from April 3 (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office)
According to Franklin County court records, Lee did not attend a court hearing on Monday morning for domestic violence and assault charges that stemmed from two separate incidents almost three months prior. NBC4 in Columbus reported Monday afternoon that Lee's attorney said Lee, a current Florida resident, did not travel to Columbus due to medical reasons.
On April 3, police were notified of a possible domestic violence incident in Dublin, Ohio – a suburb located 15 minutes northwest of Ohio State's campus and downtown Columbus – after Lee reportedly struck a female relative multiple times in the head during an argument. Lee told police the victim showed up at the residence uninvited and attacked him first, but he later recanted that statement, according to court records.
Another woman in the residence, the mother of Lee's child, called the authorities and reported the incident. The woman said she was downstairs when she heard the victim screaming at one of the home's upper levels. When the woman went upstairs, she witnessed the victim on the floor with Lee on top of her, clenching his fist. The victim later reported to the police that Lee had previously grabbed her shirt, pushed her into the wall and thrown her to the ground before punching her up to nine times in the head.
When the police investigated the incident, they learned of a separate domestic violence dispute involving Lee and the mother of his child that occurred on Oct. 17, 2022.
"(The woman) was laying on the bed, and Darron got on top of her, with his knees making contact with her knees, and his left hand on her neck where it remained for approximately 60 seconds," court records stated. "During this time, (the woman) advised that Darron told her he would kill her and their child."
The woman also told police that Lee had punched the pillow beside her head multiple times, squeezed her throat and threw a cell phone and television remote control in her direction, with the former item bouncing off the wall and striking her in the head.
After another exchange of words, the argument between Lee and the woman continued into the home's downstairs area. The woman told police that Lee "grabbed (her) by the neck and lifted her up. ... He then swung (her) around and dropped her onto the ground," court records stated.
Lee then went back upstairs, which allowed the woman to secure their child and leave the home safely. Lee reported to police that the woman had struck him in the face multiple times during the argument and denied putting his hands on the woman's neck. Police reportedly viewed photographs of the injuries a relative captured of the woman and photos of a hole in the wall, a broken phone and a journal entry the woman made related to the incident.
Lee played for Ohio State from 2013-15, starting at linebacker for the 2014 national championship team. He was then selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft by the New York Jets and spent five seasons in the league with the Jets, Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
