The US sprinter has reacted to his arrest and arraignment following his release from custody on Saturday even as his estranged wife filed new charges of domestic violence against him.
American sprinter Fred Kerley has been released from police custody after filing bond over the multiple charges he was facing following his arrest in Miami on Thursday.
Kerley was initially arrested on Thursday night over what a police report said fighting officers and resisting arrest but having appeared in court on Friday, fresh charges were filed against him over an incident involving his estranged wife in May 2024.
The Paris Olympics 100m bronze medalist was taken in alongside his girlfriend DJ Sky High Baby and charged with a felony of battery on a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest while his partner was charged with resisting arrest, having yelled at police while filming the incident as her boyfriend was getting apprehended.
18:03 - 04.01.2025
Fred Kerley: Fresh trouble for Olympic medalist as he faces charges of strangulation and robbery
Olympics bronze medalist Fred Kerley is staring at more trouble after he was slapped with fresh charges of strangulation and robbery following his arrest for fighting police on Thursday.
However, Kerley ended up spending more time in custody after the Miami police filed domestic violence charges against him, being domestic battery with strangulation and strong-arm robbery against his wife in May 2024.
Police documents reveal Kerley was wanted for allegedly strangling his then-wife last May, two months before he went on to win 100m bronze at the Paris Olympics.
At the time, Miami-Dade police were called to his home after an argument between him and his then-wife, whom he had been with for more than 10 years, escalated into what could have been a life-and-death situation.
19:26 - 04.01.2025
DJ Sky High Baby: Who is Fred Kerley’s girlfriend arrested with the American sprinter for fighting police?
US sprinter Fred Kerley is in the news following his arrest in Miami on Thursday but his DJ girlfriend’s yelling during the incident did not go unnoticed, raising questions about her identity.
The couple, who have three children, were arguing after she discovered Kerley was talking to a person on Instagram, an arrest affidavit reads. Things escalated when he began approaching his wife, who was not identified at the time, in an “aggressive manner.”
She told him to get back, but he didn’t. Out of fear, the affidavit reads, she punched him in the face. He then grabbed and pushed her to the ground. He put his arm around her neck and started strangling her, according to the affidavit.
Recounting the incident, Kerley’s estranged wife Angelica Kerley has now broken her silence after she was called in by his defence over his latest incident involving the fight with police.
"All I remember [is] trying to get up and he tries to grab my phone again, so I scoot it under me and he's standing over me at this point behind me and he takes his arm and he wraps it around my neck and he proceeds to choke me so hard that I can't gasp for air," Angelica told CBS Miami.
"And I'm not going to lie, at some point, I thought that he was going to kill me. And, he took his arm again in front of my daughter, who was at the time [8 years old], and she saw him do this and tried to choke me again.
"I picked up a toy to him to get him off me and my daughter is literally scratching at his eyes to get him off of me."
Angelica says she has asked Kerley for a divorce on numerous occasions but he has refused, and when she was called by his defence, she decided to file charges instead of standing by him.
"They asked me to be here and speak on his behalf, but I want to proceed on pressing charges against him," she said in bond court.
Kerley was released on Saturday night and did not speak with his lawyers saying they would cooperate with authorities over the latest incident but did not comment on the domestic violence charges.
However, the sprinter took to social media shortly after his release and made a cryptic post. Kerley posted an emoji of a bear on X with the post attracting messages of goodwill from his followers.