BLITZ:A livid Florida Judge Kathleen McHugh sacks a plea agreement and jails Chad Johnson (above) after he slapped his attorney’s behind.
BLITZ: A livid Florida Judge Kathleen McHugh sacks a plea agreement and jails Chad Johnson (inset left) after he slapped his attorney’s behind. (
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — This former NFL wide receiver just couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
A furious judge tossed former Pro Bowler Chad Johnson in jail for 30 days yesterday because he slapped his lawyer’s behind during a court hearing.
The one-time Cincinnati Bengal is also known as Chad Ochocinco, for his jersey number (85) in Spanish.
He was in court for violating his probation — he head-butted his reality-TV-star wife, Evelyn Lozada, last August — and had arranged a no-jail deal with prosecutors that included community service and counseling.
But that all crumbled when Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh asked Johnson if he was satisfied with his lawyer Adam Swickle.
Johnson, 35, responded by giving the lawyer a light swat on the rear — as football players routinely do to each other on the field.
The courtroom erupted in laughter, and at that McHugh said she wouldn’t accept the deal.
“I don’t know that you’re taking this whole thing seriously. I just saw you slap your attorney on the backside. Is there something funny about this?” McHugh said, slapping the plea-deal document down on her desk.
“The whole courtroom was laughing. I’m not going to accept these plea negotiations. This isn’t a joke.”
Johnson tried to apologize.
“This is your courtroom. I have no intent to make this a joke. It’s not funny,” Johnson told the judge. “My life is in a shambles right now, and I try my best to laugh and keep a smile on my face.”
But McHugh, who could have given Johnson up to a year in jail, was not moved.
“It’s not the first time he’s behaved that way in my courtroom,” she said.
Johnson then was handcuffed and hauled away to jail. Swickle declined comment on whether he would seek a reduced sentence.
Johnson pleaded no contest to head-butting Lozada barely a month into their marriage.
She quickly filed for divorce and Johnson was immediately released by the Miami Dolphins. He didn’t play at all last season.
Johnson’s been undergoing therapy aimed at helping people involved in domestic violence, but he has not signed with another NFL team.
He said in court yesterday that he hopes that will change in the upcoming football season, but he now faces another setback.
“He has suffered. He has lost everything,” Swickle told the judge.
Johnson, whose best playing days were with the Bengals, caught 766 passes for more than 11,000 yards and 67 touchdowns during his 11-year career. He also played for the New England Patriots.
Lozada, who previously was engaged to ex-NBA star Antoine Walker, stars on VH1’s “Basketball Wives” TV show.