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An arrest warrant has been issued for Davonte Pack, a close friend of Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, for an incident involving a teenager that took place at Morant's home last year.
Joshua Holloway, who was 17 at the time, had previously accused both Pack and Morant of assaulting him during a pick-up basketball game.
"The Shelby County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant for the arrest of Davonte Pack, who has been charged with simple assault in relation to the July 2022 altercation involving Mr. Pack, Memphis Grizzlies basketball player Ja Morant, and a juvenile basketball player at Mr. Morant's residence in Eads," the Shelby County District Attorney's Office said in an a statement obtained by the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "The SCSO consulted with the SCDAG before obtaining the warrant."
Morant was previously accused of punching the teen a dozen times and flashing a gun at him during the alleged incident, according to police records obtained by Molly Hensley-Clancy of the Washington Post in March, however, authorities declined to file charges against the point guard.
The teenager claimed Morant punched him "12-13 times" before going into his house and re-emerging "with a gun visible in the waistband of his pants and his hand on the weapon," according to interviews conducted by Shelby County Sheriff's Offices detectives included in the police records. Morant reportedly told police that he "swung first" in the alleged fight, but claimed he was acting in self-defense after the 17-year-old threw a basketball at his head and approached him.
Additionally, Morant was also accused of threatening the head of security at a Memphis mall days before the alleged incident, which resulted in a member of the basketball player's group shoving the victim in the head. The Shelby County District Attorney's Office issued a statement to Hensley-Clancy claiming prosecutors declined to press charges against Morant as "there was not enough evidence to proceed with a case."
TMZ Sports had previously reported that the teenager had filed a lawsuit against Morant on January 3 stemming from an alleged incident that took place in September, which the teenager said occurred after he "accidentally" hit the point guard in the face with the ball. The teen claimed Morant asked a bystander "Should I do it to him" before swinging at him with "a closed fist."
Morant claimed the teenager "made verbal threats stating he'd 'light his house up'" which resulted in he in his family fearing for their safety. The teenager claimed Morant and his friend hit him hard enough to result in a "large knot" on the side of his head, with deputies confirming that "they observed the boy's injuries," Hensley-Clancy reported.
Last month, the NBA suspended Morant 25 games without pay for the upcoming 2023-24 season "conduct detrimental to the league" after he was seen holding a firearm in an Instagram Live video shared by the account @_dtap2 on May 13, less than two months after serving an eight-game suspension for an Instagram Live video in which he appeared to be holding a firearm in a Denver nightclub during the 2022-23 regular season.