David Eason better get to ironing his good court jeans (or at least scrape the mold off of them), because the fired ‘Teen Mom 2’ dad is about to finally answer to his serious criminal charges for assault via strangulation and child abuse!
David’s charges stem from an incident all the way back in September 2023 in which his then-stepson, Jace Evans, told authorities that he ran away from the Easons’ home on The Land because he was allegedly assaulted by David. The case has been continued an ungodly amount of times since then, but now it looks like David will finally stand trial for his alleged actions three years ago.
The Ashley can reveal that there has been a lot of movement in the case recently— something that was not previously happening.
First, The Ashley can reveal that people who are connected to the case sat for depositions recently. While these depositions were taken under oath, they were not done in a courtroom in front of a judge. The people told the attorneys their account of what happened on the night in question. (This marks the first time— to The Ashley’s sources’ knowledge— that any depositions have been taken in this case, which is a big deal.)
In addition, a deputy from the Columbus County Sherrif’s Office has been subpoenaed to appear at David’s trial on Monday. The prosecutors have requested that the deputy “appear and testify, in the above-entitled action, before the court.” (The Sun was the first to report about the subpoena.)
Two other Columbus County detectives were listed as witnesses in David’s 2024 Indictment Report (which was obtained by The Ashley). It is unknown if they, too, will testify at the trial.
In case you need a refresher on what’s happened in the case so far, allow The Ashley to catch you up briefly.
The Ashley broke the news in September 2023 that Jace told police he ran away from Jenelle and David’s home on The Land because David allegedly assaulted him. Jenelle’s mom Barbara Evans revealed to the cops what Jace— who was 14 at the time of the alleged attack— told her about David assaulting him.
“[Barbara] advised that she had spoken to [Jace] earlier in the evening when he called from an unknown number and told her about being assaulted by David Eason and that he ran away and was hiding…”
David was first charged only with misdemeanor child abuse but went on to receive the felony “Assault by Strangulation” charge several months later. In North Carolina, a victim must have sustained physical injury in order for the alleged assaulter to be charged with ‘Assault by Strangulation.’ 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.”
A protective order was issued— and still remains in place— barring David from going near or contacting Jace.
Although Jace is currently back in North Carolina, it is unknown if he will testify at David’s trial (No subpoena has been issued for him as of press time, but that doesn’t mean he won’t testify.)
Jenelle and David have consistently denied that any abuse took place. (Even as recent as a few months ago, Jenelle has denied that David assaulted her son. Of course, that was when she and her swampy soulmate were still shacking up before their recent breakup.)
The twosome has also denied that a Ring camera video exists showing the alleged assault.
However, The Ashley can reveal that— in the list of discovery she obtained in 2024 for the case— at least four video files are listed as evidence. (She can’t confirm that any of these are the infamous “Ring footage” videos, though.)
David has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
Shortly after his case was upgraded to Superior Court (and the assault charge was added), David went on to issue two public statements on Facebook.
“…I can promise you one thing, THERE IS NO RING CAMERA FOOTAGE!” David wrote in January 2024. “If there was it would just prove my innocence…”
In another post from the same day, David declared that he has done nothing wrong.
“You can pray for my downfall all you want but you’re only hurting yourself,” he wrote. “I will always stand strong because I’ve always done what’s right, no matter what you heard. So not only do your words not hurt me but they give me even more encouragement to be the best man I can be for my family!”
In his March 2025 court filing for his divorce case with Jenelle, David gave his version of events for the night of the alleged attack on Jace in 2023.
“It is admitted that the minor child [Jace] has behavioral issues and mental instabilities and has threatened to harm himself and others and runs away from [Jenelle’s] home on a frequent basis,” David wrote in his court paperwork. “It is further admitted that [David] has had to constrain [Jace] from time to time in the past due to the minor child carrying around weapons in his pockets and continuously attempting to run away from the care of [Jenelle].”
As The Ashley previously told you, David is using a public defender. (When he was first charged— back in 2023— he was still with Jenelle, who hired him a private attorney. Once they split, David had to let that attorney go and ask for a public defender, due to him being broke.)
The Ashley will continue to update this story as more info is available. Stay tuned!
RELATED STORY: Jenelle Evans & David Eason Have Split (Again): What Triggered the Breakup & What Happens Now (Exclusive Details)
(Photos: MTV; YouTube; TikTok; Instagram)
For future reference, depositions are never done in a courtroom in front of a judge. Depositions take place outside of a courtroom with just the attorneys, a court reporter, and the deponent. If it were in front of a judge, they would be testifying, it wouldn’t be a deposition.
I 100% believe he did this and I hope Jace testifies and puts him in the slammer! (Again, we know he’s been there already) Don’t forget, the guy killed their dog and allegedly abused Kaiser too for years. (I do think she left him again only to “get” Jace again tho, she doesn’t really care about the kid, she only wants to win up against her own mother)
Gosh, Jace and Kaiser need STABILITY (Ensley too but she’s stuck with being their actual child, at least Jace has Barbara and Kaiser had Doris, Nathan’s mother, gosh, why are all these fathers POS?! None of them should have procreated (Jenelle included) and now these poor kids suffer)
We believe in you Jace! (And I hope Barb is healthy and well for years to come)
I hope the depositions being taken this late don’t work in UBTs favor. The first thing that I would point out if I were a defense attorney would be the length of time that has passed and the limitations of the memory to keep an objectively accurate story intact. He’s a menace and I’d love to see him get his.
I hope Jace does testify and nail David to the wall. That boy has been through enough and deserves justice finally! I bet notes from counselors at the mental hospital share a LOT about things that have happened over the years. That should help Jace get the justice he so deserves. If he hadn’t had such an abusive (mentally and physically) upbringing he probably would have never acted out. North Carolina courts need to FINALLY exercise due diligence!
Is it normal for depositions to be taken 3 years later? And this close to the trial?
At least DKD is finally getting his day in court! I’m sure it hasnt been easy for Jace to wait this out for so long.
Unfortunately anything Jace could say pertaining to Kaiser would be deemed inadmissible, the prosecution would have had to take a statement from Kaiser, or his parent…🙄 in order for it to be used.
I hope there is a just karma out there that gives that knuckle dragger the maximum sentence, and I hope Jace laughs in his egg donor’s face and never speaks to her again
I hope Jace will testify and tell the court all about Davids abuse of himself and his brother. And how afraid of him they all have been their whole lives! I hope Jace tells all!! I’m so sick of David and Jenelle NEVER being held accountable for the abuse of those kids. The more the court knows about how Jace had to live and the kinds of verbal abuse along with physical abuse, the better it will be for finally making that piece of shit pay!!