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New grand jury to hear misdemeanor assault case against Johnny Manziel in Dallas

A grand jury in Dallas ended its term last week without hearing the misdemeanor assault case against free-agent quarterback Johnny Manziel, the Dallas County District Attorney's Office told KTVT.

The new grand jury is expected to be seated within a week to 10 days.

The Dallas police department referred their domestic violence case against Manziel to the grand jury in late February. The grand jury was to consider whether to charge the troubled former Cleveland Browns quarterback on allegations that he attacked his ex-girlfriend.

A misdemeanor assault case carries a maximum punishment of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and Texas A&M star, was accused by ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley of hitting her and threatening to kill her during a night out on Jan. 30. Crowley said Manziel accosted her at a Dallas hotel and later struck her when they drove back to her apartment in Fort Worth.

Crowley said in court documents that he hit her so hard, she temporarily lost hearing in one ear. Crowley's attorney, Kathy Kinser, told Dallas-Fort Worth television station NBC5 that Crowley had a ruptured eardrum as a result of the assault.

Crowley requested and was granted a protective order against the 23-year-old quarterback -- which Manziel also signed -- that prevents him from seeing her for two years. The order also requires Manziel to stay at least 500 feet from her home and place of work, and that he pay $12,000 in legal fees.

Crowley alleged she and Manziel had a confrontation in a Dallas hotel room, which eventually continued downstairs to the valet station. She said he forced her into a car and a valet disregarded her pleas for help. The two eventually drove to where her car was parked in front of a Dallas bar, she said in an affidavit. She accused Manziel of getting into the driver's seat and beginning to drive her.

She said she tried to jump out, but he stopped the car, dragged her back inside and hit her.

She said Manziel threatened to kill himself as he drove her back to Fort Worth, about 30 miles west of Dallas, where police were called.

Manziel was cleared of any wrongdoing last year after he and Crowley got into a heated roadside argument near the player's home in Ohio. Witnesses to that incident saw Manziel arguing on the side of a highway with his girlfriend and pulling her back into his car as she tried to leave the vehicle. He was not arrested and Crowley told police she didn't want to press charges.

Manziel, the 22nd overall pick by the Browns in 2014, was waived by Cleveland in March.