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LSU suspends OL Jevonte Domond after domestic violence arrest

College Football, LSU Tigers

DESTIN, Fla. -- LSU Tigers coach Les Miles suspended reserve offensive lineman Jevonte Domond indefinitely after Domond's arrest this week on felony domestic violence charges.

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office booked Domond on felony domestic abuse battery with strangulation charges on Monday following a scuffle with his fiancée. East Baton Rouge District Judge Mike Erwin set Domond's bail at $3,000 on Wednesday afternoon.

Miles addressed the arrest on Tuesday at the SEC spring meetings, telling the Baton Rouge Advocate that "it's a crime that we cannot condone and behavior that we will not tolerate."

According to the sheriff's office incident report, Domond's fiancée accused him of grabbing her from behind by the neck while she was leaning over their newborn baby's crib and then lifting her off the ground to the point that she began to lose consciousness. She said she almost "blacked out" when Domond dropped her onto the ground.

As the argument progressed, Domond would not allow his fiancée to leave their home, the report states, and she sprayed him with pepper spray. She accused Domond of then lifting her up and slamming her onto their sofa, then biting her on the left hip before she pepper sprayed him again.

She then was able to leave their home and drive to an East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office substation, where a friend who was a witness to the dispute confirmed her story.

Domond's fiancée reported that he followed them to the substation in his car, but did not turn into the parking lot.

The arrest report states that Domond admitted he and his fiancée "got into it" but said he did not strangle or bite her. He said he picked up his fiancée to get her to stop spraying him with pepper spray. He claimed the injury on her hip was from the fall and not from him biting her, according to the report.

Further, Domond reported that she had pulled a kitchen knife on him earlier in the day and threatened to cut him, but she told deputies that she had done so after Domond pushed her prior to the incident.

Although he had attempted to reach the 22-year-old offensive lineman multiple times after the arrest, Miles had been unable to reach Domond yet since the player was still in the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail while the coach attended the league meetings in Florida.

Miles spoke generally on the subjects of domestic violence and a possible league-wide disciplinary policy on Wednesday, however.

He said it's important that coaches not make rash decisions when players stand accused of serious crimes, but there are times when dismissal is the only reasonable option.

"If you're sure that this guy has done things that were reflective of very bad character -- not just bad decisions, bad character -- I'm very comfortable letting that guy go," Miles said.

Miles is clearly not one to rush to judgment following a player arrest, however -- not until the legal process has run its course.

"In this country, you're innocent until proven guilty. I think there needs to be a legal process that takes place here," Miles said. "I think at some point in time if it is found that a guy is guilty of a very serious, heinous crime, he's done. He's history. If he's innocent, then I think a slow and moderate approach should be appropriate on all of these. And yeah, there's certain behaviors that we will not tolerate."

A good example of Miles' approach came last summer with starting safety Jalen Mills.

Mills was arrested last year and initially charged with felony second-degree battery after he was accused of punching a female student. Mills disputed the charge against him, but he was suspended from the team until the East Baton Rouge Parish district attorney reduced the charge to a misdemeanor simple battery charge just before the start of preseason practice, citing a lack of evidence.

The district attorney's office decided last month that Mills' charges could be dropped completely once he completes a pretrial diversion program. Mills started all 13 games last season.

"Their responsibility is to not get involved in some of these things, right? This is what we do: we suspend and we let them sort it out. They've got to handle their business," Miles said. "If they're found innocent and the specifics are there was really no serious victim there, and [they're] innocent and proven in a legal process, then we'd be willing to have them.

"But again, there's certain behaviors that we're not going to tolerate. Yeah, we sit there and make them sort it out. It's their responsibility to live in a society. They go to school at LSU, but they are also a part of the Baton Rouge community."

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