Prosecutors in Kansas on Wednesday dismissed three felony charges related to accusations 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 Wednesday and the felony charges were dropped. A fourth charge — misdemeanor battery — remains, and Jackson Mahomes pleaded not guilty to that charge.
The court filing cited a lack of cooperation from the alleged victim.
Jackson Mahomes’ attorney, Brandan Davies, said in a statement that his client “has done nothing wrong. We had full confidence that the truth of the matter would ultimately be revealed.”
The original charges accused Jackson Mahomes, a 23-year-old social media influencer, of crimes that occurred Feb. 25 at Aspens Restaurant and Lounge in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.
Investigators said Mahomes shoved a waiter who tried to come into a room where he was with the restaurant’s owner, Aspen Vaughn. After the waiter left, Mahomes grabbed Vaughn by the throat and forcefully kissed her three different times without her consent, prosecutors alleged.
Vaughn told police Mahomes was a friend of her stepdaughter, and had caused trouble and been asked to leave the restaurant in the past.
Vaughn closed the restaurant in August, saying her business suffered from the publicity associated with the case. She told the Kansas City Star at the time that she endured death threats and harassment and the restaurant was vandalized in the aftermath of the charges.
Tuesday’s court filing said prosecutors were presented with an affidavit from Vaughn’s attorneys stating that she would refuse to testify. The filing said prosecutors still planned to move ahead with the case, noting that surveillance video captured the encounter.
But the filing also said subpoenas meant for Vaughn, who was referred to in court documents by her initials, were not delivered.
“Indeed, it has become clear to the State, through conversations with more than one person in contact with her, that A.R. is actively thwarting attempts to serve her to avoid coming to court,” Ahsens wrote.
The misdemeanor battery charge remains because that charge involved the alleged shoving of the waiter.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office declined comment.