Geoff Neal was arrested on misdemeanor charges and was booked into a Texas jail on Thanksgiving, for intoxicated driving and unlawfully carrying a firearm.
According to a police report obtained by MMA Junkie, Neal was arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety at 3:37 a.m. on Nov. 25 and was booked into the Collin County Jail in McKinney. With a bond set at $1,000 for each offense. Neal was later released from jail at 8:08 p.m.
Neal’s lawyer, Brandon Barnett, later provided a statement to ESPN where he explained that his client volunteered for a blood test upon his arrest and is current waiting for the results. The test results can take anywhere between six weeks to six months to get back.
“If it turns out he was not legally intoxicated — which we expect the blood test will show — there won’t be a gun charge, either,” Barnett said.
Texas law states that it is illegal to possess a firearm while committing another crime, ever if the owner is legally licensed to carry, as Neals attorney states he is. In order to get the gun charge dropped, Neal’s test results will need to prove that his blood alcohol level was below 0.08% at the time of his arrest.
The arrest comes just 16 days before Neal was set to fight Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 269 on Dec. 11.
