Prosecutors in Kansas on Wednesday dismissed three charges related to allegations that Jackson Mahomes — the younger brother of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — grabbed a woman by the neck and kissed her against her will.
Johnson County Assistant District Attorney Megan Ahsens had filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss three counts of aggravated sexual battery. Jackson Mahomes appeared at a hearing on Wednesday and the misdemeanor charges were dropped. A fourth charge – misdemeanor battery – remains, and Jackson Mahomes pleaded not guilty to that charge.
The court relies on a lack of cooperation from the alleged victim.
Jackson Mahomes' attorney Brandan Davies said in a statement that his client “did nothing wrong. We were confident that the truth about the case would eventually come to light.”
The original indictment charged Jackson Mahomes, a 23-year-old social media influencer, with crimes that occurred on February 25 at Aspens Restaurant and Lounge in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.
Investigators said Mahomes shoved a waiter who was trying to enter a room where he was with the restaurant's owner, Aspen Vaughn. After the waiter left, Mahomes grabbed Vaughn by the throat and forcibly kissed her three times without her consent, prosecutors alleged.
Vaughn told police that Mahomes was a friend of her stepdaughter, had caused trouble and had been asked to leave the restaurant in the past.
Vaughn closed the restaurant in August, saying her business suffered from the publicity that came with the case. She told the Kansas City Star at the time that she faced death threats and intimidation and that the restaurant was vandalized in the wake of the allegations.
Tuesday's court filing said prosecutors had obtained an affidavit from Vaughn's attorneys saying she would refuse to testify. The filing said prosecutors still planned to move forward with the case, noting that surveillance video captured the encounter.
But the filing also said that subpoenas intended for Vaughn, who was referred to in court documents by her initials, had not been delivered.
“Indeed, it has become clear to the state, through conversations with more than one person in contact with her, that AR is actively thwarting efforts to serve her to avoid being brought to justice,” Ahsens wrote.
The misdemeanor battery charge remains because that charge related to the alleged pushing of the waiter.
A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service declined comment.
