A former NBA player is accused of breaking into a house in Georgia, stealing $100,000 and beating up a teenager.

James Edward “J.J.” Hickson Jr., 29, was arrested and charged with home invasion, aggravated assault and armed robbery with a knife on June 15, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta.

He allegedly broke into the house in unincorporated Senoia around 10:30 a.m. through a side door with a knife, authorities said, stole the large sum of cash, and several other items and then left.

A neighbor named Mary Taylor told WSB-TV that she saw the 17-year-old victim run out of the house after the robbery, with a broken nose.

“When he told me what happened,” she said, “I was so nervous I couldn’t even punch in [911] in my phone.”

Authorities did not say why Hickson chose that particular house, which is 60 miles away from his own in Smyrna.

The targeted house is at the end of the street near a stop sign, and a neighbor told WSB-TV that they spotted the getaway car five hours before the robbery.

“They jumped in the car and took off real fast,” a witness told the station.

Authorities said they believe at least two people were involved in the robbery, but so far only Hickson has been charged.

He was booked into the Coweta County jail without a bond.

Hickson played high school ball in Marietta and college ball at NC State. He was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the 19th overall pick in the 2008 draft, according to ESPN.com. He made at least $27 million during his eight season career, and he played for the Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers and the Sacramento Kings.

Since his NBA career ended in the 2015-16 season, he’s been playing overseas, most recently in 2018 with the Champville team in the Lebanese Basketball League.

[Photo: Getty]

Former NBA player J.J. Hickson, allegedly broke into the Georgia home of a teen and brutally beat him before stealing his stash of belongings and cash worth $100,000, reports the Daily Mail.

The 29-year-old NBA baller reportedly made more than $26 million over the course of his career, but police charged Hickson with armed robbery and for the brutal assault of a 17-year-old that was so severe that the boy was left with broken bones.

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“The victim was beat up pretty good and they took some personal items from the residence,” said Captain John Kennedy from the Coweta County Sheriff department where Hickson is being held in the Coweta County jail without bond.

Hickson is said to have attacked the teen after entering the home through a side door. He shielded his face and head so he would be recognizable. But police were still able to locate him.

“And at that point in time through the help of a canvass we were able to identify a suspect and a suspect vehicle. We were able to identify a suspect from that.” According to a Sheriff’s spokesperson, two people were “involved” in the attempted robbery, however, only Hickson faces charges.

The violent home invasion happened in Senoia, Georgia. Hickson is awaiting trial. There is no word on why the teen was targeted.

Some say Hickson had a promising career but he never turned out to be the superstar that the Cleveland Cavaliers intended him to be when he was drafted in 2008. Hickson played for the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards during eight NBA seasons.

Last year he played in the Lebanese Basketball League.

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VIRGINIA BEACH

It’s been more than three years since former Washington Redskins safety Curtis Jordan was accused of brutally beating and choking his girlfriend during an argument, leaving her in a pool of blood in her beachfront home.

Jordan, who had just turned 61 and was staying at his Virginia Beach home at the time, was charged with malicious wounding a few weeks after the Jan. 2, 2015 incident. He was arrested, then quickly released on bond.

Since then, the case has languished in the city’s Circuit Court, with the trial repeatedly postponed. Dozens of motions, orders and subpoenas have been filed in the meantime, creating a mountain of paperwork.

Jordan has been allowed to travel extensively while out on bond. He’s made trips to England, Scotland, Italy and Mexico, as well as multiple excursions to Florida, Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area over the past three years, according to documents in his court file. Most of his stays were in 4- and 5-star hotels.

While the criminal case remains on hold, a civil trial stemming from a lawsuit filed by Curtis’ now former girlfriend is set to begin this week in Norfolk’s federal court. It’s expected to last about two weeks and is loaded with attorneys – six are listed for the plaintiff’s side and five for the defense.

It’s rare for a civil case to go to trial before a criminal one when both stem from the same incident, according to some local lawyers and legal experts.

Typically, the criminal case is considered more important and gets priority, said Jeffrey Bellin, a professor at the College of William and Mary Law School and an expert on criminal law.

Also, attorneys for the accused usually seek to delay a civil action to prevent their client from having to answer questions or supply information while criminal charges are pending, the lawyers said.

“It’s a bold strategy to do the civil case first,” said longtime Norfolk attorney Jon Babineau, who handles an equal mix of civil and criminal cases. “There’s lots of potential pitfalls in doing it that way. But if your guy is squeaky clean and you want everyone to know that, then this is a good defense strategy.”

And that’s true in this instance, said Richard Doummar, who, along with James Broccoletti, represents Jordan in the criminal case. Both attorneys also are assisting in the civil matter. 

The defense contends that it was Jordan’s ex-girlfriend, Virginia Beach orthopedic surgeon Jamie Alexandra Dale, who attacked their client. They also claim that she was heavily intoxicated at the time and confronted Jordan with a loaded gun. Any injuries she may have suffered were the result of Jordan trying to get the weapon away from her, according to the defense.

“He was trying to break up with her and she wasn’t going to have it,” Doummar said. “He’s telling the truth, his story makes sense, and we believe strongly that she was the aggressor and that she was trying to kill him.”

Dale claims that the beating exacerbated a previous brain injury she’d had, leaving her with no chance of returning to her surgical career and causing a significant loss of income. It also has led to hefty medical bills, with more to come, and much physical and emotional damage, according to her lawsuit.

Her initial brain injury was caused by a car accident and was worsened later by a fall, according to Stephen M. Smith, one of Dale’s attorneys. She was forced to stop operating on patients as a result, but her condition had begun to improve in the months before the assault, leading her to believe that she might soon be able to perform surgeries again, Smith said.

“It’s really tragic,” he said. “She’s a brilliant woman who loved being a surgeon. She was just starting to improve and was on the road back to doing surgery again when this happened.”

Just how serious Dale’s brain injury is, and whether it was made worse by the alleged assault, is expected to be a major source of contention in the civil and criminal trials. Numerous doctors are expected to testify for both sides.

In the criminal case, the defense issued more than 50 subpoenas in an effort to get medical and psychiatric records from all of Dale’s doctors for the past 10 years. Prosecutors sought to quash most of those, calling them an unwarranted invasion of Dale’s privacy. Some of the defense’s requests were granted, in whole or in part, but most were denied.

Many of the criminal trial continuances have been caused by the records requests, as well as the difficulty in trying to coordinate the schedules of all the lawyers, doctors, experts and other witnesses involved in the case. The trial is currently is set to begin Oct. 30.

Jordan, now 64, retired from the NFL in 1986 after playing 11 seasons, first for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then with the Redskins. He was in two Super Bowls, including Super Bowl XVII in 1983, when the Redskins defeated the Miami Dolphins.

His greatest financial success, however, has come off the football field, as the owner of restaurants and other businesses. Most are in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, the location of his primary residence. He also has a home in Virginia Beach’s Croatan area, just a few blocks from the beach and from his former girlfriend’s home. 

Jordan and Dale began dating about two years before the incident, according to the lawsuit. Both are tall and athletic, with Jordan standing 6-foot-2 and Dale, 5-foot-10. Dale is 16 years younger than Jordan.

On New Year’s Day 2015, the two spent most of the evening going to various homes and restaurants to watch college football, the civil lawsuit states. They went back to Alexander’s house sometime after midnight and soon got into an argument. 

Dale claims that Jordan screamed at her, called her names and accused her of flirting with another man in front of him. She said that when she slapped him, he began to brutally attack her, tackling her to the ground and repeatedly slamming her head on the floor. When she tried to get up, he swept her legs out from under her, causing her to fall and hit her head again.

She said she eventually was able to get to her bedroom to retrieve an unloaded gun. Jordan then tackled her again, took the gun and choked her until she lost consciousness, the lawsuit claims. After coming to, she fled to her bedroom and blocked the door with a chair. Jordan tried to kick it in, then cleaned up the crime scene and left with her gun, the lawsuit says. 

When Jordan returned early the next morning, Dale says, she was lying in bed, weak and bleeding profusely. She says she begged him to help her, but he refused. He left after further cleaning blood from the crime scene and gathering some of his personal items, the suit says.

Dale’s neighbors became worried when they did not see her that morning and went to her house to check on her, the suit claims. An ambulance was called and Dale was taken to a hospital. The defense says she was released within 24 hours. Police and other emergency responders noted seeing blood on the carpet, a door frame, stairs and bedding.

Dale’s injuries included head trauma, ripped tendons and bursitis of the elbow, according to a criminal complaint filed by a detective. The lawsuit states that she also suffered cuts to her head, ears and foot, an ankle sprain, a torn ligament and bruises all over her body. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder afterward and has difficulty sleeping, Smith said. The brain injury also has caused speech problems, he said.

“The intelligence is still there,” the lawyer said. “She just has trouble finding the right words sometimes.” 

Each side has accused the other of harassment and intimidation since the charges were filed. Jordan’s bond conditions are strict when he is in Virginia Beach. He is barred from driving in Croatan and from coming within 200 yards of Dale. He also is required to wear an alcohol monitoring device when he’s in town and must inform Dale’s lawyers of when he plans to be here.  

Dale purchased a security dog and a therapy dog after the attack, her lawyer said. “It’s been a nightmare for her, and she can’t get closure with the criminal case dragging on for so long,” Smith said. 

The civil case likely will provide a good preview for the criminal one, said Doummar, one of Jordan’s attorneys. “Both sides will gain a ton of information from the civil case – what the experts are going to say and what the witnesses are going to say.”

While the rules of evidence are much the same in a civil case, there is more leeway in what kind of information is allowed and who can be called to testify. The burden of proof is also much lower, The plaintiff only has to prove its case by a preponderance of the evidence: that there is a greater than 50 percent chance that the defendant did what the plaintiff claims he did. Criminal cases must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The O.J. Simpson case is a great examples,” Doummar said. “He won the criminal case, but he got slaughtered in the civil case.”

Warning: The video above may be too graphic for some viewers.

Former Corpus Christi Hooks player Danry Vasquez has been released by a Pennsylvania team after a video showing him beating his fiancée was released.

The Lancaster Barnstormers took to Facebook to announce the decision made by manager Ross Peeples.

“A recently released video out of Corpus Christi, Texas portrays a domestic violence episode involving Vasquez. Upon being made aware of the nature of the incident, the Barnstormers made a prompt decision to cut ties with the 24-year old outfielder,” the post states.

“There is no choice but to sever the relationship,” Peeples said. “Neither I, nor the Barnstormers’ organization as a whole, can condone or associate with that behavior.”

While playing for the Hooks, a minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros, Vasquez was arrested in August 2016 on a misdemeanor assault family violence charge.

Corpus Christi police said video footage from Whataburger Field showed Vasquez backhanding his fiancée repeatedly in a stairwell.

Click the player above to see the footage. Warning: The video may be too graphic for some viewers.

Major League Baseball suspended Vasquez indefinitely shortly after his arrest in 2016. Before he took a plea deal, he returned to his home country of Venezuela to play for a professional baseball team. At the time, his lawyer said his fiancée supported prosecutors’ offer to have the case dismissed if Vasquez signed a confession and completed a 24-week batterer’s intervention course.

Court records show a violation report was filed in April 2017. It stated Vasquez failed check in monthly with a pre-trial diversion program in-person, by mail or by email.

Former Corpus Christi Hooks player Danry Vasquez

It’s unclear how the issue was resolved, but prosecutors had the case dismissed last week and said in court papers Vasquez completed the program.

A month before the incident in the stadium stairwell, Vasquez charged the mound after being hit by a pitch during a game against the Frisco RoughRiders. It escalated to a benches-clearing brawl.

Staff writer Eleanor Dearman contributed to this report. Stay tuned for updates.

Being abused?

Emergency: 9-1-1

Shelter: Contact The Purple Door, a nonprofit agency that offers free services to victims and survivors of family violence and sexual assault.

Hotlines: 1-800-580-4878 or 361-881-8888

© 2018 WFAA

Warning: The video above may be too graphic for some viewers.

Former Corpus Christi Hooks player Danry Vasquez has been released by a Pennsylvania team after a video showing him beating his fiancée was released.

The Lancaster Barnstormers took to Facebook to announce the decision made by manager Ross Peeples.

“A recently released video out of Corpus Christi, Texas portrays a domestic violence episode involving Vasquez. Upon being made aware of the nature of the incident, the Barnstormers made a prompt decision to cut ties with the 24-year old outfielder,” the post states.

“There is no choice but to sever the relationship,” Peeples said. “Neither I, nor the Barnstormers’ organization as a whole, can condone or associate with that behavior.”

While playing for the Hooks, a minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros, Vasquez was arrested in August 2016 on a misdemeanor assault family violence charge.

Corpus Christi police said video footage from Whataburger Field showed Vasquez backhanding his fiancée repeatedly in a stairwell.

Click the player above to see the footage. Warning: The video may be too graphic for some viewers.

Major League Baseball suspended Vasquez indefinitely shortly after his arrest in 2016. Before he took a plea deal, he returned to his home country of Venezuela to play for a professional baseball team. At the time, his lawyer said his fiancée supported prosecutors’ offer to have the case dismissed if Vasquez signed a confession and completed a 24-week batterer’s intervention course.

Court records show a violation report was filed in April 2017. It stated Vasquez failed check in monthly with a pre-trial diversion program in-person, by mail or by email.

Former Corpus Christi Hooks player Danry Vasquez

It’s unclear how the issue was resolved, but prosecutors had the case dismissed last week and said in court papers Vasquez completed the program.

A month before the incident in the stadium stairwell, Vasquez charged the mound after being hit by a pitch during a game against the Frisco RoughRiders. It escalated to a benches-clearing brawl.

Staff writer Eleanor Dearman contributed to this report. Stay tuned for updates.

Being abused?

Emergency: 9-1-1

Shelter: Contact The Purple Door, a nonprofit agency that offers free services to victims and survivors of family violence and sexual assault.

Hotlines: 1-800-580-4878 or 361-881-8888

© 2018 WFAA

After a beating at an October house party that left an underclassman unconscious, four football players who were allegedly involved were allowed to play in the state football tournament. The game happened in early November, shortly after police had opened the investigation but before the students were charged.

RELATED: Bullying Task Force Formed After Assault of Student Athlete

Since that game, the Blue Earth community has been divided as the four athletes were slapped with felony charges, leaving police, parents and the school district scrambling to figure out what went wrong.

“The boys have lawyers, which leaves them unable to tell their side of the story and leaves them extremely vulnerable,” said Dalton Nagel’s mother at Monday night’s Blue Earth Area School Board meeting. Nagel is one of the 18-year-olds charged for his role in the beating.

“We felt that it put a huge target on his back,” said Naomi Ochsendorf, of her minor son who also faces felony charges stemming from the incident.

She told the school board that she has now pulled her kids out of the district.

Ochsendorf’s sophomore son, as well as another minor, and 18-year-olds Dalton Nagel and Wyatt Tungland all face felony charges for their alleged involvement in the beating of a fellow football player at an October house party.

“What does this have to do with football? It didn’t happen on the football field,” said John Schavey, at whose house the assault occurred. Students and parents have reported seeing a video of the incident circulating at school.

RELATED: Parents Push School Board for Answers, Action Following Assault on Blue Earth Student

The victim’s family wasn’t at Monday night’s meeting, but his father, Dale Hurley, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, “These kids beat my son and showed him the video of them beating him in the locker room at school.”

It’s the same video Winnebago police asked the community to turn over at the start of the investigation, but it’s unclear if that has happened.

“Dalton has denied involvement in this incident since the first round of interviews that were done at the school,” said Nagel’s mother in defense of her son.

District officials say they can’t comment on the ongoing criminal case, but they have said they are working to change the school climate. That starts with a bullying task force that meets every six weeks.

The four students facing charges were also suspended for 10 days and are currently not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities. 

RELATED: 2 Blue Earth Area Football Players Plead Not Guilty to Assaulting Fellow Student Athlete

“I am very displeased with the fact that my son and three other boys involved in an incident outside of school and off school property have been attached to this whole bullying task force that was created at the school,” Dalton Nagel’s mother said. “These boys have not been proven guilty of anything in a court of law. Why are they being proven guilty at the school?”

This criminal case continues to move through the court system. The school district conducted its own investigation, which is now closed. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is working to learn what the investigation entailed and what resulted.