Local prosecutor drops all criminal charges against No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler

I noted in my post here two weeks ago after World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested during a traffic misunderstanding that I was puzzled he was charged with four criminal offenses, including the serious felony charge of second-degree assault.  Today, a local prosecutor dropped all these charges, stating in court the evidence from the enounter did “not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses.”  Here are more details from this ESPN piece:

Criminal charges have been dropped against world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler after the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office in Louisville, Kentucky, said it would not pursue the case that stemmed from a traffic incident outside the PGA Championship earlier this month.

Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell asked for the charges to be dismissed with prejudice — meaning they can’t be filed again in the future — during a court hearing Wednesday.

“Based upon the totality of the evidence, my office cannot move forward in the prosecution of the charges filed against Mr. Scheffler,” O’Connell said. “Mr. Scheffler’s characterization that this was a ‘big misunderstanding’ is corroborated by the evidence. The evidence we reviewed supports the conclusion that Detective [Bryan] Gillis was concerned for public safety at the scene when he initiated contact with Mr. Scheffler. However, Mr. Scheffler’s actions and the evidence surrounding their exchange during this misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses.”…

Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, had previously said his client would plead not guilty and wasn’t interested in a plea deal. “I am prepared to litigate as needed and the case will be dismissed, or we will go to trial because Scottie did absolutely nothing wrong,” Romines said.

Interestingly, today also brought this new story based on a new video in which “Scottie Scheffler admitted to cops ‘I should have stopped’ before accusing ‘over-aggressive’ Detective Bryan Gillis of ‘hitting me with his flashlight.'”