Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of domestic violence.

The criminal court case against former  star  is moving forward…slowly.

can exclusively reveal that a public defender for David— who is the estranged husband of — met with prosecutors for the State of North Carolina on Monday for a conference room hearing. David— who is being charged with felony “Assault by Strangulation” and misdemeanor “Child Abuse” in Superior Court— was not present at the meeting; however, a judge signed off on several orders that provide further insight into the status of the case. 

Back in April, an administrative hearing held seemed to indicate that a plea deal may be in the works; however, according to records from Monday’s meeting, it appears that David’s case is being prepped to go to trial.

As The Ashley told you, David’s charges stem from an incident in September 2023 involving Jenelle’s eldest son, Jace, who was 14 at the time. Jace told authorities that he was allegedly assaulted by David. The fired ‘Teen Mom 2’ dad received the child abuse charge first, and had the “Assault by Strangulation” charge added a few months later, due to physical injuries allegedly being present on Jace following the alleged assault. 

“[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 released in January 2024 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.” Back in October 2023, The Ashley broke the news that Jace told police he ran away from Jenelle and David’s home on  because David allegedly assaulted him. 

The Ashley can reveal that, since April’s hearing, the Superior Court judge has reviewed confidential Department of Social Services (DSS) records pertaining to an undisclosed minor and other matters. On Monday, the judge ruled that some of the records may be disclosed to David & Co. for purposes of his criminal trial only. Some of the records, however, will not be handed over to David, his attorney or experts.

The Superior Court judge conducted what is called an “in-camera review” of the DSS records. In an in-camera review, the judge reviews confidential/sensitive records alone, often in their private chambers, to determine what information can be revealed publicly and who– if anyone– can use the information from those documents in their case. 

Obviously, no one but the judge and DSS agents know what exactly the records state, but based on the rulings made by the judge in the case on Monday, it appears that some or all of them may be related to Jace. (According to The Ashley’s legal source– who is not associated with this case– this could include things like Jace’s medical history or school records, etc.) 

The judge ruled that some of the DSS records can be given to David’s legal team to help them prep their case. However, the remainder of the records involving the minor (whom we can assume is Jace) and other people are not allowed to be released to David’s attorney, their experts or the public. 

Regarding the information found in the DSS records that the judge is not allowing David’s legal team to have or use, it appears to be info about the minor that the judge feels could unfairly influence the jury in a way that would affect the outcome of the case, instead of letting the facts in the case do that. 

The judge stated that some of the records being denied are “not pertinent” to David or his case, and that the “prejudicial value of said records pertaining to minors and other persons not connected with Defendant’s case, outweighs any possible probative, material and/or favorable value” to David. 

In regard to the DSS records the judge is approving to be given to David’s attorney and their experts for the “purpose of trial preparation only.” The judge also specifically stated that the info obtained in the confidential DSS records can only be used for the pending criminal court case and not for any other purpose.

“This means that the information David gets here can only be used for this criminal case. He can’t use that information in any other case, like the divorce case he has going on with Jenelle in civil court,” the legal source stated. “That’s important.” 

David’s attorney is allowed, however, to share the allowed info with any experts they may hire to help David in his case. Other than David’s attorneys and any expert hired by them, the allowed info cannot be given to anyone else. The records will be sealed in case there’s an appeal for the case later on. 

As The Ashley has previously reported, David gave his version of events regarding the incident with Jace back in March, in his response to Jenelle’s February 2024 divorce complaint. (This response was for David’s civil case— the divorce— and not his criminal case for the incident with Jace, just to clarify.) 

In his civil court case filing from March, David seemingly gave his explanation of what happened.

“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. “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].”

David admitted in his court documents that the Department of Social Services (DSS) did open a case with the Easons after the incident with Jace. (The Ashley reported this at the time, despite Jenelle denying her report.)

“DSS got involved due to [Jace’s] allegations against [David] but DSS has since closed and dismissed the case,” David wrote.

It is possible that thie DSS report from this case could be some of the information discussed in the judge’s orders from Monday, but The Ashley can’t confirm this.

The Ashley will continue to update this story as more information is available. Stay tuned…