J.R. Smith has been arrested for assault in Texas.
As first reported by TMZ, and confirmed in Hunt County Sheriff’s Office records by Complex, the two-time NBA champ’s arrested is listed as having occurred on Tuesday (Sept. 29), though a subsequent statement from police pins it to one day earlier (Sept. 28). Online records show that no bond has been set as of this writing, with the charge listed as assault causing bodily injury - family violence.
In a statement shared with Complex, a Royse City Police Department rep said that Smith was taken into custody following a traffic stop spurred by “an alert of a wanted person” on the agency’s Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) system on Monday (Sept. 28).
“The suspect vehicle was traveling eastbound on Interstate 30 in Royse City,” the rep said. “The police officer observed the vehicle and checked the license plate to confirm the ALPR alert. The check of the license plate showed an active warrant for a wanted person out of the Southlake Police Department. The wanted person was Earl Joseph Smith III and the charge was for Family Violence Assault Causing Bodily Injury.”
The rep continued: “A traffic stop was conducted and the driver of the vehicle was identified as Earl Joseph Smith III. The warrant was confirmed and Mr. Smith was taken into custody. Earl Joseph Smith III (J.R. Smith) is a former NBA basketball player. Mr. Smith’s brother was with him at the time of the arrest and the vehicle was released to him. Mr. Smith was transported to the Hunt County Detention Center and booked in on the arrest warrant out of the Southlake Police Department. There is no further information at this time.”
Smith, 41, previously spent a brief period in jail back in 2009 after pleading guilty to reckless driving in connection with a fatal car accident in New Jersey. He retired from the NBA in 2020, the same year he secured his second championship.
More recently, he graduated from North Carolina A&T State University, where he also played golf.
