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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A judge dismissed a misdemeanor gun case Tuesday against Los Angeles Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick after the football player completed the terms of a diversion program.
Over the prosecution's objection last December, Superior Court Judge Lucy Armendariz had ordered Kendrick to perform 20 hours of community service and a gun safety program -- the latter of which she noted had already been completed.
The judge noted then that the case would be dismissed in one year if Kendrick complied with the diversion program, adding that she might be willing to consider a dismissal earlier if he completed the terms before then.
"He fulfilled his obligations," Kendrick's attorney, Mark Werksman, said. "He deserved a dismissal because he's a good young man who never meant to do anything wrong here and the court recognized that."
The defense lawyer said the "case should have never been filed."
Kendrick was charged last October with one misdemeanor count each of carrying a concealed firearm and carrying a loaded firearm.
Jail records show Kendrick was arrested early last Oct. 16 by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division, hours after the Rams' 26-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium.
Kendrick was released on his own recognizance, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, which filed the case after it was referred by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
TMZ reported that Kendrick was pulled over in a traffic stop, and that police allegedly found a concealed weapon in his vehicle.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Kendrick was arrested in March 2021 in his hometown of Rock Hill, South Carolina, after police found him asleep in a car with a gun on his lap. Kendrick completed a pretrial intervention program that resulted in the case being expunged, according to The Times.
He was selected by the Rams in the sixth round of the 2022 draft.