Miami’s Walton charged with domestic violence & released
The Dolphins released running back Mark Walton hours after he was arrested and charged with punching his pregnant girlfriend.
The second-year pro was charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant person, a felony. He could face a maximum of 15 years behind bars if convicted.
Walton pushed his girlfriend — who is five weeks pregnant and told Walton about the pregnancy on Sunday — “against a wall and punched her several times in the head and face,” early
Tuesday morning, according to the police report obtained by the Miami Herald.
The beating left her with a swollen left eye.
The Dolphins parted ways with Walton after learning about the arrest Tuesday.
“We were made aware of a police matter earlier this morning regarding Mark Walton,” Miami general manager Chris Grier wrote in a statement. “We hold our players to a high standard and take these matters very seriously. We will have no further comment at this time.”
Walton had been in the middle of serving a fourgame suspension for violating the NFL’s player conduct and drug policies — he was arrested three times during the offseason. He would have been eligible to return Dec. 2 and been available for the Dolphins game at the Jets on Dec. 8.
The charges for his prior arrests were for weapons and drugs possession, reckless driving, resisting arrest and battery (an altercation with a neighbor resulted in Walton taking his neighbor’s phone). He was sentenced to six months probation, which was reduced to three weeks and had his battery and drugs possession charges dropped.
“The conduct of our players is very important and Mark has done everything we have asked of him both on and off the field since signing with the Dolphins,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said then. “We look forward to having him back at the conclusion of his suspension.”
The 22-year-old signed with Miami in May. He had 201 yards rushing on 53 carries in seven games this season. He played sparingly in 14 games with the Bengals as a rookie in 2018.
Walton will remain in jail until his preliminary hearing on Wednesday morning, according to the Sun Sentinel.