Denver Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper pleaded not guilty Monday morning in a Douglas County (Colorado) courtroom to misdemeanor domestic violence charges.
Cooper, 28, who was arrested along with his girlfriend late Thursday night by Parker (Colorado) police, will now have a motions hearing July 6 with the potential of a jury trial to start on July 22, according to court records. The Broncos are expected to open training camp in late July.
Cooper's attorney, Harvey Steinberg, said the defense doesn't plan to file a motion to dismiss the charges and requested a trial date "as early as possible," according to the Denver Post, to avoid conflict with his client's required attendance at training camp.
Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charges on Monday in a Douglas County (Colorado) courtroom. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File Cooper was held at the Douglas County Jail on Thursday night, into Friday morning, on the suspicion of criminal mischief with a domestic violence enhancer. Cooper appeared in the 23rd District Judicial Court on Friday morning and was later released on a personal recognizance bond that day.
Cooper's girlfriend was arrested on the suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence with an additional charge of petty criminal mischief.
According to records, Cooper was arrested by Parker police at 11:16 p.m. Thursday and formally booked into the Douglas County Jail at 2:38 a.m. Friday. The arrests came after an argument and physical confrontation between Cooper and his girlfriend over cellphones, and the phones were damaged during the argument.
In separate affidavits to police, the two gave vastly different accounts about the argument and confrontation.
According to Cooper's arrest affidavit, he had been confronted by his girlfriend over allegations of infidelity and, after his girlfriend had taken his cellphone from him and thrown it across the room, he had grabbed his girlfriend by the upper arm as he retrieved the phone. Cooper also told police he had "braced his neck against her neck'' during her attempt to get his phone.