Ex-NBA star J.R. Smith arrested on family violence charge in North Texas
Two-time NBA champion J.R. Smith is in the Hunt County Detention Center, jail records show.
Smith, whose full name is Earl Joseph Smith, was booked into jail on Monday after his arrest in Royse City, a suburb about 30 miles northeast of Dallas.
In a statement to CBS News Texas, the Royse City Police Department said that one of its officers got an alert from an automated license plate reader that a vehicle for a wanted person was traveling eastbound on I-30 through the city. Smith had an active warrant for his arrest out of Southlake, the statement said.
The Royse City officer pulled over the vehicle and confirmed that Smith was driving before arresting him.
Smith's brother was with him in the vehicle during the arrest, police said.
CBS News Texas has reached out to the Southlake Police Department for more details on the charge against Smith. Southlake is a suburb of Fort Worth.
Smith's connection to Southlake and North Texas is unclear. He grew up in New Jersey and pursued a college degree in North Carolina after his NBA career.
Smith, 41, played in the NBA for 16 seasons after getting drafted straight out of high school in 2004. He was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year for the 2012-13 season as a member of the New York Knicks, and won NBA titles in 2016 and 2020 as a teammate of LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively.
Since retiring from basketball, Smith has become a competitive golfer and was recently involved with The Pro Tour, a new golf league featuring former professional athletes from other sports.
