It’s safe to say that any hopes Joseph Lewis entertained to return to the USC football program have officially faded.
Earlier this month, Lewis completed a 21-day sentence and was released from jail July 6. The erstwhile USC wide receiver reached a plea agreement in late May and pleaded no contest to two counts of domestic battery in connection to an arrest this offseason.
Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Times reported, Lewis was arrested again, this time on suspicion of domestic battery with an injury. That charge is a felony, and Lewis is currently being held in jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond.
The arrest came less than two weeks after he was released from jail.
In late February, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to pursue a felony charge against Lewis after he was arrested on one count of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. At the time, though, it was reported that the case had been referred to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, which would decide whether misdemeanor charges would arise from the arrest.
Not long after, the city attorney’s office filed five misdemeanor counts against Lewis. The charges stemmed from two separate incidents in February, and included three counts of domestic battery with an injury, false imprisonment and domestic battery without an injury.
In the wake of the arrest, Lewis was suspended from the football team and his name removed from the roster. While a USC spokesman stated after Lewis’ release from jail that his status with the team hadn’t changed and remained off the roster, the player had stated that he was hopeful he’d be permitted to rejoin the team before the start of the upcoming season.
A five-star member of the Trojans’ 2017 recruiting class, Lewis was rated as the No. 4 receiver in the country; the No. 6 player at any position in the state of California; and the No. 31 player overall on 247Sports.com‘s composite board. The only player rated higher in USC’s class that year was running back Stephen Carr.
As a true freshman last season, Lewis caught four passes for 39 yards. He had been expected to play a bigger role in the Trojans’ passing game this season