Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson may face possible bond revocation and jail time as prosecutors allege he admitted to using marijuana, which violates the bail conditions of his felony child abuse charge.
Peterson was indicted on charges of negligent injury to a child by a grand jury in May for hitting his son, who normally lives with his mother, with a switch (thin wooden stick) during his stay at Peterson’s home north of Houston, Fox Sports said.
Police have not released details about the case, CNN said, but Peterson did turn himself in and was released Sept. 12 on a $15,000 bond with one of the conditions including mandatory drug testing.
The Washington Post reports that documents from TMZ and Fox Houston say that Peterson admitted to an employee of the drug testing company Wednesday while giving a urine sample that he had “smoked a little weed,” but it is unclear whether he failed the test.
Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon asked the primary judge in the case, Kelly Case, to arrest Peterson again and revoke his bond for using drugs and violating the conditions of his bail.
Judge Case may raise the bond amount or rearrest Peterson and require him to pay another bond, but it is unclear when Ligon’s request against Peterson will be ruled on because he has also made a request for Case to recuse himself after he made comments that the lead prosecutors in the case were “media whores,” The Washington Post said.
Rusty Hardin, Peterson’s attorney, said in a statement that Ligon’s motion to revoke Peterson’s bond will come up only when it’s known which judge will hear the case, and the defense will respond at that time, Fox Sports said.
Currently, Peterson remains free on bond. He was deactivated by the Vikings on Sept. 17 and continues to receive his full $11.75 million salary although he can not participate in any team activities.
Peterson is considered one of the best running backs in the NFL, according to CNN, and signed a seven-year contract with the Vikings worth more than $100 million in 2011.
Peterson has defended himself saying that he’s “not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser,” CNN reports. Hardin said his client didn’t mean to harm his son, but was disciplining him like “he experienced as a child growing up in East Texas.
