It’s been over a year since David Eason was charged with felony “Assault by Strangulation” for allegedly assaulting Jenelle Evans’ son, Jace, but the case is trudging along in court.
The Ashley can exclusively reveal that the fired Teen Mom 2 dad’s criminal case— which also includes a misdemeanor charge of child abuse— was discussed in court today. However, the case was quickly moved from the courtroom into a conference room, according to The Ashley’s court source.
“David was not present today, and neither were Jenelle or Jace,” the source told The Ashley. “David was represented by his attorney, and the attorneys for the state were present. The attorneys met in a courthouse conference room today to discuss the future of the case.”
A legal source for The Ashley— who is not involved in David’s case– weighed in on this.
“Generally, this type of administrative hearing happening means that the attorneys for both sides are likely discussing plea deals or potential negotiations, depending on how strong of a case the [District Attorney] feels they may have against David,” the source said.
As of press time, no plea deal has been confirmed, and a trial date has not been set. The Ashley’s source stated that David is due back in court for the case this summer. (Obviously, if a plea deal is reached, no trial will take place.) The next hearing– in June— is also scheduled to be an administrative hearing, so David will likely not have to appear.
As The Ashley previously reported, David was assigned a public defender for this case, after he filed an Affidavit of Indigency in May 2024. In those court documents, David declared the sad state of his finances, revealing he only has $106 total in all his bank accounts. He also claimed to be nearly $49,000 in debt.
(He has retained a private attorney to represent him in his divorce case with Jenelle. According to David’s girlfriend Kenleigh Heatwole, that attorney has agreed to work on contingency— i.e. the attorney is paid via a portion of whatever David receives, and does not get paid if David does not win anything.)
After David was charged with child abuse in October 2023, Jenelle— who was still with him at the time— hired (and paid for) attorneys William and Tara Gore to defend her then-soulmate in his criminal court case. In January 2024, the fired Teen Mom 2 dad was hit with an additional felony charge of “assault by strangulation,” but he still had the support of Jenelle– and her criminal defense team.
After Jenelle and David split in February 2024, though, David had to go to the court to let them know he could no longer afford the private attorneys. William and Tara Gore were removed from the case in May, and David was forced to declare himself indigent (aka living in poverty and unable to afford basic life necessities).
If David’s case goes to trial, there’s a chance he could end up behind bars. In North Carolina, a victim must have sustained physical injury in order for the alleged assaulter to be charged with ‘Assault by Strangulation,’ as David was. It is a Class H felony and carries a maximum of 39 months in prison.
The official court summons issued in October 2023 claims that David “willingly” harmed Jace during the September 2023 incident.
“[David] unlawfully and willingly did, being the parents of Jace V Evans, who was a child, less than 16 years of age, inflict physical injury on that child,” the court document states. “The physical injury inflicted caused marks on [Jace’s] right arm, and left and right side of the neck, and was inflicted by other than accidental means.”
Jenelle and David are due back in court next month for their divorce case.
The Ashley will continue to update this story. Stay tuned…
(Photos: TikTok; MTV; Facebook)
17 Responses
North Carolina law on contingency fees woudl seem to prohibit this: ” [7] Paragraph (d) prohibits a lawyer from charging a contingent fee in a domestic relations matter when payment is contingent upon the securing of a divorce or upon the amount of alimony or support to be obtained. This provision does not preclude a contract for a contingent fee for legal representation in connection with the recovery of post-judgment balances due under support, alimony or other financial orders because such contracts do not implicate the same policy concerns.”
Looks like you have done your research. I’m impressed.
So his current attorney has agreed to work on contingency and only get paid “a portion of what David receives” um, what? Was Dave in an auto accident?! Is David planning on suing Janelle in the future using this attorney and that’s how the attorney will get paid? What a swamp sh!t show!
That’s for the divorce case, not this one. The money he might get from the divorce is half of that house and the boat, and whatever tools and vehicles are still stored there.
That makes sense, thank you!
I was wondering the same.
He’s going to get away with it with whatever the minimal is. Jace now lives far away, so they’ll deem him not a threat, but possibly still keep the No Contact Order in place. What really works in his favor is that Jenelle spent months discrediting Jace, saying he was a liar and all that, and then Jace still has delinquent behavior afterwards (Jenelle calling the cops because he’s out of control in Vegas and destroying the house, for example). All that just makes it easier for David to claim he was defending himself against Jace or trying to restrain him or whatever. Unless the video makes it without a doubt clear he wasn’t, he’s not going to get the max. I’m predicting probation, anger management classes, parenting classes, maybe house arrest at most.
If Jenelle would have left him immediately following the incident and went against him hard, it would be a different story.
YUP!
He’s gonna get off because these people are like fkin Teflon. It’s unbelievable what they get away with
Lock him up and throw away the key, then send Kenleigh to Vegas for a boxing match against Jenelle.
I really don’t like him, but he actually was the decent parent for a while, I wish Jenelle had left jace alone, he would of been find with Barbara and Kaiser with Nathan’s mom, she really can’t care with them , it’s really sad
Jace was having behavioral issues at Barbara’s home. He was running away and starting fires, probably more things. That was the whole reason Barbara agreed to give custody to Jenelle.
I’m just going to put this out there and I’m sure I will get hate and downvoted. Barbara is not the saint everyone claims. Yes, Jace would have been screwed without her. Barbara screams like a lunatic. If Jenelle grew up being screamed at like that. It’s a problem.I know that Jenelle is not a good person or parent. But I don’t think she knows how to respond to things without freaking out. She doesn’t seem to have coping mechanisms. She’s also no different than anybody else who acts out after their father just leaves them. I don’t think Jenelle recognizes that she’s mentally unwell and needs a shit ton of therapy and also meds.
He will get off this. They aren’t in the same state anymore and Jace has proven to be somewhat of a delinquent with running away etc.
There likely will be a plea but if there is video evidence ( as its been stated) then whether or not they live in the same state is irrelevant. Not to mention Jace or Jenelle can come back to testify.
The thing I see looking good from David’s side is Jenelle repeatedly defending him after it happened and her dumbass paying for his original attorneys.
Nothing will happen to him and here is why. He is no longer a threat, they’ve broken up. The court prob will give him a slap on the wrist. Cps is a joke
I swear to God if they plead him down to probation and anger management I’m going to fucking scream.
Especially since I’m about to move back to North Carolina. Show me you have some damn morals NC!