Former Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee was arrested on Monday in Dublin, Ohio, and was charged with two counts of domestic violence and two counts of assault, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.
According to a report from The Columbus Dispatch, Lee faces two counts each of misdemeanor domestic violence and misdemeanor assault. One set of charges are related to an alleged incident on Oct. 17, 2022, with the other charges stemming from the incident on Monday leading to his arrest.
Court records showed that officers were called to a home on Kendall Ridge Loop after Lee reportedly punched a female relative multiple times in the head during an argument, and both the relative and the mother of Lee’s child reported the incident to the police.
According to The Dispatch’s report, the relative told officers that Lee became upset when she told him to leave, and that Lee began yelling and grabbed her shirt before shoving her into a wall.
“(The relative) was then thrown to the ground while Mr. Lee kept screaming at her. Mr. Lee then began to strike her head with his fists making contact with her face and back of her head,” court records said. “(The relative) stated that he struck her approximately 8-9 times in the head area with a closed fist.”
The investigation into that incident reportedly uncovered the alleged Oct. 17, 2022, incident in which Lee and the mother of his child argued after Lee believed the women cheated on him.
“(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 said. “During this time, (the woman) advised that Darron told her that he would kill her and their child.”
According to the report, Lee also allegedly punched a pillow beside her head, squeezed her throat and struck the side of her head, and grabbed her by her neck and lifted her up.
“Lee reportedly told police that the woman had struck him in the face during the argument and again while they were going downstairs and denied ever putting his hands on the woman’s neck,” the Dispatch’s report reads. “Police reportedly viewed photographs of injuries the woman had taken that night by a relative, photos of a hole in the wall and a broken phone, as well as a journal entry the woman made related to the incident.”
Lee appeared in court on Tuesday morning with his bond set at $20,000 in each case.
Lee played at Ohio State for three seasons from 2013-15 and was a member of the Buckeyes’ 2014 national championship team. Following his collegiate career, he was taken in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, and was most recently with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.
