Georgia linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson pleads guilty to reckless driving, has racing charge dismissed

On3 imageby:Chandler Vessels04/17/23

ChandlerVessels

Georgia linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson saw his case for two driving charges come to a conclusion at the Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court on Monday. According to the Athens Banner-Herald, Dumas-Johnson pleaded guilty to reckless driving and had a second charge for racing dismissed.

He received 12 months probation and must complete a defensive driving course and traffic violators’ impact program, pay a $635 fine and do 40 hours of community service.

Police charged Dumas-Johnson with the misdemeanors on Jan. 10, the day after the Bulldogs won their second straight national championship. He later had a warrant issued for his arrest on Feb. 21 and turned himself in, spending about an hour in jail before being released.

Police said that two Dodge Chargers — one that Dumas-Johnson was driving — “began racing East down College Station Road at a high rate of speed” on the night in question. Officers were unable to catch them even after accelerating to “approximately 75 miles per hour.”

Coach Kirby Smart addressed the situation at the start of spring practices.

“Will he be disciplined? (He) absolutely will be disciplined,” Smart said according to the Banner-Herald. “Do I have to define what that discipline is right now? No I don’t have to define what that discipline is, but I can assure you that the education piece is there and that the discipline is there. Our team is a very disciplined team, they’ll do what they’re supposed to do when they’re supposed to do it, and when they don’t, they’re going to face the repercussions of that.”

With the ruling now known, Dumas-Johnson will hope to move on from the incident and help Georgia defend its title in 2023. The junior finished second on the team with 70 tackles (nine for loss), four sacks and a forced fumble this past season. He was also a finalist for the Butkus Award given to the nation’s top linebacker.

Dumas-Johnson was active for Georgia’s G-Day spring game on Saturday, tying for second on the Black team with four tackles. He’s in position to once again be a leader for a Bulldog defense that finished fifth in the country in scoring defense with 14.3 points allowed per game.

Dumas-Johnson wasn’t the only member of the Georgia football team to face charges for reckless driving and racing following the national championship. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter, a projected first-round draft pick, also faced misdemeanor charges for his involvement in the fatal crash that killed offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy.

Carter pleaded no contest on both counts and was suspended from driving in the state for 120 days.