Jermell Charlo is now named in an alleged incident for which his twin brother awaits a first court date.

According to Fort Bend County court records, an arrest warrant is being sought for the lineal/WBA/WBC/IBF junior middleweight champion stemming from a family incident last September 5 for which twin brother Jermall Charlo was arrested and awaits his first court hearing. Court records indicate that the District Attorney’s office is prepared to charge Jermell with one count of Terroristic Threat of Family or Household Member, a Class A misdemeanor in the state of Texas. According to court documents—a copy of which was obtained by BoxingScene.com—a still-active case file was opened upon fielding the complainant’s statement, after which an arrest warrant was generated.

Jermell has yet to be arrested, nor has any action been taken since Fort Bend authorities took the complainant’s statement on March 2, nearly five months after the alleged incident and two months after a grand jury indictment allowed the DA’s office to move forward with charges against Jermall.   

Texas Penal Code §22.07 classifies Terroristic Threat of Family or Household Member as a Class B misdemeanor. However, the incident in question falls under section (c)(1) since “the offense is committed against a member of the person's family or household or otherwise constitutes family violence.”

According to court documents, the same complainant who alleged to have been assaulted by Jermall claimed that Jermell told him, “I will kill you with my bare hands.”

The Charlo twins both fight for Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), whose spokesperson was unable to provide much insight given the legal measures.

“It’s an open police investigation,” Tim Smith, Vice President of Communications for PBC noted to BoxingScene.com. “We don’t comment on legal matters.”  

Kent Schaffer, attorney for both Charlo twins did not respond to an inquiry seeking comment as this goes to publish. However, his office previously insisted that the matter in question stems from a family party at Jermall’s house at which time the boxer was attempted to defend his wife from the complaint who they allege was mishandling a Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) and—in a fleeing effort from her attempting to shut off the vehicle—sped off which resulted in her being knocked to the ground.

What happened from there remains the subject of what are now separate investigations against each Charlo twin.

Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22KOs) was already served with an arrest warrant and booked on February 11, as he has been charged with one count of Assault Causing Bodily Injury of a Family Member.Jermall is due for his first court appearance on March 28. The charge was advanced from misdemeanor to Class C Felony due to a prior conviction from a 2015 incident in Clark County, Nevada.

Because the alleged incident in question took place during the pandemic, Charlo is subject to enhanced punishment. The arrest affidavit noted that the alleged incident “was committed in an area that was, at the time of the offense, “(1) subject to a declaration of a state of disaster made by… the president of the United States under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; or the governor; or the presiding office of the governing body of a political subdivision… or subject to an emergency evacuation order.

The U.S.—including Texas—has remained in a pandemic since March 2020. The distinction in the arrest affidavit subjects Charlo to second-degree charges which doubles the maximum sentence to up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. Such charge also carries a separate fine of up to $10,000, even without jail time served. The crime in question carries a minimum prison sentence of two years whether charged as third- or second-degree, although it includes the possibility of probation under either charge.

Jermall’s legal team remains confident, however, that the case will not reach that point and that the matter in question is “an attempt to shake Jermall down for money.” Such a dismissal is not unfounded: the latest arrest came less than two weeks after Charlo was fully exonerated on previous robbery charges from an incident last July in San Antonio.

A misunderstanding over the boxer’s debit card being initially declined for services rendered led to a dispute which he believed to have been resolved, only to have been issued an arrest warrant three weeks later. Charlo was initially charged with three counts of second-degree felony robbery, though all charges were dropped investigators secured video evidence to back the boxer’s denial of any wrongdoing in the matter.  

The same thought process would seemingly apply to Jermell’s alleged involvement. Should authorities serve the arrest warrant, Jermell will face up to one year and prison and/or a $4,000 fine.

The developments comes as Jermell Charlo (34-1-1, 18KOs) awaits his next fight, an undisputed junior middleweight championship rematch with WBO titleholder Brian Castano. The two were due to fight March 19 in Los Angeles, only for Castano (17-0-2, 12KOs) to request a postponement after suffering a slight biceps tear during training camp in early February.

The fight is now rescheduled for May 14 on Showtime from a location to be determined. The bout will come ten months after their first fight, which saw the two fight to a split-decision draw in failing to produce the first-ever undisputed champion in the four-belt era, and the first undisputed champion of any kind in the division since Winky Wright achieved the status following his March 2004 win over Shane Mosley.

The current legal development is not expected to disrupt plans for that fight, nor is Jermall Charlo expected to further delay the targeted time frame for his next fight.

The middleweight Charlo has been out of the ring since a twelve-round, unanimous decision win over Mexico’s Juan Macias Montiel last Juneteenth (June 19) at Toyota Center in his Houston hometown. The win marked the fourth successful title defense since his reign was upgraded from “interim” to “World” champion in June 2019.

The next fight for the Houston-based boxer has not yet been determined. BoxingScene.com has learned that Charlo is in advanced talks for a high profile title defense against former WBO middleweight titlist Jaime Munguia (39-0, 31KOs) eyed for June or July. Munguia has yet to accept the most recent offer presented for such a fight, which would headline a Showtime Championship Boxing telecast.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox