Texas- Houston Texan receiver and kickoff returner Jerome Mathis, 24, was booked into the Brazoria County Jail briefly last Sunday night on a charge of assault and family violence.

Mathis, who had been on the Texans’ injured list during the past season, was charged with assaulting his pregnant common-law wife, Erica Smith, 26.

Deputies went to the couple’s Manvel-area home Friday night after someone called 911 and hung up. Smith told deputies that Mathis pushed her onto a bed and started choking her with his hands.

Deputies reported seeing a red mark below her jaw line.

She refused to be treated, but told deputies she is six months pregnant, a report said.

Mathis left the house Friday night, but was arrested there without incident Sunday. He was released on $3,000 bail.

If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000, the sheriff’s office reported.

This is the second time in recent months that Mathis has had problems with the police.

In December, Mathis was cited after four pit bull dogs escaped from his home near Manvel.

Authorities said then that Mathis allowed the dogs to remain at large and harbored unvaccinated animals.

Residents of the Cobblestone Park apartments in the 3800 block of County Road 94 reported that the dogs were behaving in an aggressive manner, the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office reported.

One woman reported that she was chased into her apartment by the dogs, and a couple said they jumped onto a parked car to escape.

A sheriff’s deputy saw one dog approach a woman and then shot pepper spray at the dog, the report said. When the spray seemed to take no effect, the officer fired his gun without hitting the dog. The dog ran away.

Officers caught a dog and three puppies, the report said. Mathis, said the dogs were his and was issued citations. No injuries were reported.