Known for his extraordinary athletic talent in mixed martial arts and professional football, the Jones family has unfortunately become equally infamous for their repeated encounters with law enforcement. Former UFC heavyweight champion John Jones, along with both his brothers Chandler and the NFL player, has accumulated a substantial history of a decade-long arrests, charges and legal controversy.
John Jones: The Most Worried Brother
John Jones has the most extensive criminal history of the three brothers, and the incident dates back to 2012. His legal issues began with the arrest of DUI in 2012 when he avoided prison time, but crashed the vehicle onto a tree in New York. The pattern of reckless behavior continued to escalate throughout his career.
In December 2014, Jones tested positive for cocaine metabolites in a prewar drug test, earning a $25,000 fine from the UFC and a one-day stint at a rehabilitation facility. However, his most serious legal troubles began in April 2015 when he was involved in a hit-and-run case that defined a problematic public image. On April 26, 2015, Jones ran a red light in a rental SUV, crashing into a car driven by a pregnant woman, causing her to break his arm.
After fleeing the scene on foot, the witnesses observe Jones returning to his car and back in his car to grab a large amount of cash before fleeing again. Marijuana Marijuana Pipes were found in his abandoned car rental. Jones ultimately pleaded guilty to leaving the accident scene and was on 18 months of supervised probation along with 72 hours of community service. The UFC quickly stripped him of his light heavyweight title and stopped him indefinitely.
John Jones’ legal issues continued until 2019 when he was charged with battery after a case at a strip club. The cocktail waitress accused Jones of slap her, putting her in a chokehold, kissing her in the neck, and touching her inappropriately after asking her to stop. Jones did not sue the charges and took 90 days of probation.
In March 2020, Jones faced another serious arrest for worsening DWI and using firearms negligence. Police found him in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle with an engine running on it, showing signs of addiction with a handgun and a half-empty bottle of liquor inside the car. Jones tested more than twice the legal limit in the Breathalyzer test. He pleaded guilty to a DWI crime and received one year of supervised probation, 90 days of outpatient care, community service and a maximum fine.
The September 2021 domestic violence incident marked perhaps the darkest chapter of Jones’ criminal history. Hours after his 2013 fight with Alexander Gustafson was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, Jones was arrested for misdemeanor battery domestic violence and vehicle injuries or tampering. Police responded to a call for domestic obstruction at Caesars Palace, where Jones’ fiancee Jesse Moses discovered bleeding from her nose and mouth.
Moses told the officers that Jones was “a little physical” with her and that he would stop him from pulling his hair and leaving his hotel room with his three children. The officer looked at the blood on her sweatshirt and saw the dry blood on her swollen lips. When Jones was in custody, he was angry and slammed his head into the front of a patrol vehicle, leaving behind a medium-sized dent and chipping paint, and pulling the charge up to a felony.
Most recently, in June 2025, Jones faced a new charge that allegedly left the scene of a car accident. On February 24, 2025, police responded to a single-vehicle accident in which a woman was extremely drunk and partially undressed in the passenger seat where Jones claimed to have fled the scene.
The woman told police she consumed alcohol and mushrooms at Jones’ home before crashing. During a phone conversation with police, a man who was allegedly made threatening statements such as “My brother, they kill fewer people,” allegedly urged officers to call for backup. Jones is charged with misdemeanor for leaving the scene of the accident and is scheduled for arrest on July 24, 2025.
Chandler Jones: The youngest child’s worries
Chandler Jones, the youngest of the three brothers and the defensive side of the four-inning Pro Bowl NFL, has his own serious legal issues, especially in 2023.
On September 29, 2023, Chandler was arrested for two counts of violating a temporary domestic violence protection order. The incident involved the mother of her son who obtained a protective order against him on September 12th following a suspected domestic battery incident. Police reports said the woman claimed that Jones knocked on the door without a flashlight and shoes, and entered through the back door, trapped in the keypad. She reported that Jones was “inconsistent” and that she believes he is taking drugs.
On September 28th, Jones went to the woman’s house and violated the protection order by taking items from the backyard, including recycle bins, pool nets and dog toys. He then sent her snapchat message showing herself in the backyard burning stolen items. When police found Jones in the woman’s driveway later that night, he told officers he apparently knew he was violating the protection order, “just take him out of the car.”
Less than three weeks later, Chandler was arrested again for violating the same protective order, but details of this second violation were not available immediately. The Las Vegas Raiders released Jones after being arrested for the first time in September.
Arthur Jones: “Pretty” Brothers with Suspension
Arthur Jones, the eldest of three brothers who won the Super Bowl Championship with the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts in 2013 and former NFL defensive lineman, holds the most serious record of legal issues among his three brothers. Unlike his brother, Arthur is not facing criminal arrests, but he encounters important professional discipline.
In July 2016, Arthur was suspended in the first four games of the NFL season after violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. The suspension comes just two weeks after his brother John was pulled out of the UFC 200 for a potential doping violation, highlighting his family’s struggle with substance-related issues. Arthur was forced to lose a $588,235 salary during the four-game suspension. The timing of Arthur’s PED violation, which is near the failure of John’s drug test, frowned upon the potential drug abuse issues that will be carried out in the family.
Arthur’s suspension was particularly noteworthy given his career suffering from injuries at the Indianapolis Colts. After signing a five-year, $33 million contract in 2014, he only played nine games that season due to various injuries and missed the entire 2015 season with an ankle injury.