Insight into Johnny Manziel's domestic violence case and concerns regarding his health leaked Friday evening. That leak came via an accidental text message sent from Manziel's attorney to the Associated Press.
Yes, you read that correctly. An accidental text message is how the AP stumbled upon the following information.
According to the AP, Manziel's attorney, Bob Hinton, mistakenly texted the news outlet a message that suggested Manziel's legal team hopes to agree to a plea deal in the domestic violence case. Hinton also accidentally told the AP that he has a receipt that shows Manziel might have visited a drug paraphernalia store, where he might have spent over $1,000 less than 24 hours after his involvement in a hit-and-run car crash.
As Lindsay Jones of USA Today pointed out, Hinton is the same attorney who said that he hoped the two sides would "kiss and make up" in the domestic violence case. Manziel faces a misdemeanor assault charge for allegedly striking his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, whose attorney accused Manziel of rupturing Crowley's ear drum during the incident in January. That charge is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
"Heaven help us if one of the conditions is to pee in a bottle," Hinton reportedly wrote in the text message about a potential plea deal. Hinton added that he met with an administrative chief in the Dallas County District Attorney's Office on Wednesday.
The AP adds that Hinton wrote, "He is very interested in working with us to arrive at some agreement" in the case.
As for the receipt from the Gas Pipe store, Hinton told the AP (after being asked about it) that he isn't sure "if the receipt is legitimate or not." Hinton then explained how another lawyer -- who is not involved in Manziel's case -- sent him the receipt.
"I just know that it doesn't say Johnny's name on it anywhere that I can see," Hinton wrote. "It's just that somebody in that store, I guess, circulated that to the other store managers and employees saying, 'Guess who was here today and spent this amount of money.' That's all I know."
Manziel's spokesperson, Denise Michaels, also told the AP she's unsure of the validity of the receipt.
"We don't know for sure whether the receipt does or doesn't represent a purchase he made since there are always unfounded stories flying around," Michaels said in a statement, "but we all make it a policy to keep each other up to date on them."
Again, an accidental text is how the AP landed this information. Here's how the AP explained the situation:
The errant text was sent Wednesday after the AP sought comment via text about Monday night's crash. When asked about the text, Hinton said he had meant to send it another attorney on the case and was unaware the AP had received it instead. He insisted the contents were protected by attorney-client privilege and threatened to sue if certain details were published.
Since Manziel got cut by the Browns and was dropped by two agents this offseason, he has spent much of his free time partying. He has also been involved in two hit-and-run accidents and reportedly faces a lawsuit after trashing a rental house. At this point, it's foolish to even wonder about his future in the NFL.
"I truly believe if they can't get him help, he won't live to see his 24th birthday," Manziel's father told the Dallas Morning News in February.
You can read the Associated Press' entire story here.
