Texans reserve running back Darius "Jet" Anderson, a former George Ranch and TCU standout, has had his burglary with intent to commit assault case dismissed, according to his criminal defense attorney, Kelly Benavides, and law enforcement officials.
Security footage proved that Anderson did not break into a former girlfriend's home.
"The DA's office did the right thing by dismissing the case," Benavides said. "We thank them for how they handled this case and commend them on their professionalism.
'I'm happy for Darius for being able to go on with his life. Hopefully, he can help them have a winning season.' I'm happy for Darius he is able to put this behind him. He has maintained his innocence since the beginning. I commend the DA's office for doing the right thing and dismissing the case."
Anderson was originally listed with a charge of burglary with intent to commit rape, but a police official attributed that to a coding error.
His agent, Harold Lewis, the founder and president of NSA Football, said that Anderson is happy to have this legal matter behind him and thanked the Texans for standing behind him when the former George Ranch High School standout was charged.
"It's been a nightmare that this young man has been going through," Lewis said in a telephone interview. "I wish people got to know him as I do and the Texans do. He's a great young man. It was a horrible situation. I hope no one ever has to go through that. As bad as it was, there are so many people I would like to thank through this process. I would like to thank Lovie Smith, Nick Caserio and the entire Texans organization for trusting and believing in this young man. The Texans are a family organization and they stand by this player.
"I've been an agent for close to 40 years and it seems like there always two sets of justices, depending on the talent of the player. Ninety-five percent of the time when a player is fighting to make roster and is not a lock the team will say, 'We have to release him right now and let the legal system play out.' This team stood by this young man from the very beginning. I can't thank them enough and neither could the player. Hopefully, it will show on the field. He's a tremendous young man."
Texans coach Lovie Smith commented on the case after practice.
“Well, my thoughts about that is when it initially happened, of course I reached out to him, and he told me that charges have to be dropped because it didn't happen that way," Smith said. "Normally when things come up like that, we let it play out in the system. I'm glad that they came to that conclusion.”
The NFL will review the case file.
"We have been monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email.
Anderson, 24, allegedly broke into a Houston townhouse in the Museum District and pursued a woman into her bathroom and threatened to beat her up, according to the woman, per court records. The woman told law enforcement authorities that while she was calling police from the bathroom that Anderson left the residence. Anderson and the woman have been in a relationship, but the woman told police they have broken up.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio added at start of camp that there was "a lot of misinformation" in the case and he predicted a resolution soon. Now, it has been resolved favorably for Anderson, who has practiced well and drawn praise from the coaching staff.
Anderson was on the Texans' practice squad last season before being signed to a reserve-future deal.
Anderson went undrafted out of TCU after playing in the Senior Bowl all-star game.Cut by the Dallas Cowboys, Anderson was on the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad and was elevated to the active roster twice. He signed a reserve-future deal with the Colts, but was cut Aug. 17.
At TCU, he rushed for 823 yards and six touchdowns as a senior, 598 yards as a junior and 768 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore.
He played high school football at nearby George Ranch, winning a Class 5A state championship as a senior and rushed for 2,274 yards and 30 touchdowns.
"I would like to thank Kelly Benavides and her staff," Lewis said. "They believed in him from the beginning. They did all the investigating. They knew from the very beginning that this case should be dismissed. They stood by him and never wavered. I would highly recommend Kelly in any legal matter.I want to thank the prosecuting attorneys for doing what was right and not pursuing a case they realized should never have been brought on. It's been a tough thing he had to go through, first being accused of a horrible crime only to find out it was a coding error.
"It was one travesty after another. In the end, all I can say is thank God for the right outcome. When a person is charged like Darius, it's front-page news and there aren't many people in your corner and you find out who your true friends are. When the charges are dismissed, usually the retraction is on page 26, not page 1. That is a shame. When you bring up his name to other teams, they'll say, 'Isn't that the player who was charged?' He has to live with that. I can't thank the support enough from Darius' family, his parents. They never for a second doubted his innocence. Their support helped carry Darius through this nightmare he has lived these past couple of weeks."
Aaron Wilson is a Pro Football Network reporter and analyst and a contributor to Sports Talk 790.
Texans' Jon Greenard delivers huge play
By Aaron Wilson
Texans starting quarterback Davis Mills has done a nice job of taking care of the football for the majority of training camp, but defensive end Jon Greenard had other ideas Friday.
Greenard batted a Mills pass into the air to himself for an interception, one of two interceptions thrown by Mills. A third interception was thrown by quarterback Jeff Driskel and picked off by defensive back Jacobi Francis.
Mills also took a sack in a two-minute drill and misfired on a third-down throw to Chris Conley and didn't pick up the first down on a fourth-down throw to Brandin Cooks.
Since the start of camp, Mills has excelled. This wasn't one of his better practices, though.
Greenard, who had a career-high eight sacks last season, is taking a step forward in camp after undergoing offseason foot surgery.
“Absolutely, that was a great play he made today," Lovie Smith said. "But we expect great players to make great plays. Last year he had limited amount of time on the field, but he was productive, so it's time for him to take a step. We need a few of our guys to take that next step to where you're really talking about them, and Jonathan has the ability to do that.”
Photo: Getty Images