Rod Stewart and his son 41-year-old son Sean are set to stand trial for assault after a planned plea deal fell through.
The pair face misdemeanour battery charges that stem from a 2019 New Year’s Eve incident involving a hotel security guard.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, neither Stewart nor Sean were present in the Florida court when Judge August Bonavita announced that a hearing in which a deal was expected to be reached had been cancelled.
The Stewarts are now scheduled to stand trial for the charges on January 25th 2022.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, this is at least the second time a plea deal has fallen through in the case, which has also been delayed as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
The Stewarts face a maximum penalty of a year in jail, or probation and a USD $1,000 fine.
Stewart and Sean are accused of pushing and shoving Breakers Hotel security guard Jessie Dixon because he wouldn’t let them into a New Year’s Eve party, AP News reports.
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According to a police report accessed by AP News, Dixon told Palm Beach police that Stewart’s group was at the check-in table for a private party they weren’t authorised to attend.
Dixon revealed that he put his hand on Sean’s chest and told him to back away when the group began causing a scene.
According to Dixon, Sean then shoved him backwards, before Stewart joined in by punching him in the “left rib cage area” with a closed fist.
The police officer who arrested Rod Stewart and Sean said he saw security footage of the alleged assault that indicated they were the “primary aggressors”.
Meanwhile, Sean told investigators that he become irritated when they were barred from attending the event “due to Dixon’s interaction with him and his family.”
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