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Dave Chappelle’s alleged on-stage attacker was hit with simply misdemeanor costs Thursday, after the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office handed off the case, saying the high-profile incident didn’t warrant felony costs.
The DA’s workplace had been investigating the case towards 23-year-old Isaiah Lee as a felony cost — however referred it early within the day Thursday to the LA City Attorney’s Office to be thought of for “misdemeanor filing,” a spokesman mentioned.
“After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors determined that while criminal conduct occurred, the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct,” a spokesman for the DA’s workplace mentioned.
“The District Attorney’s Office does not prosecute misdemeanor crimes within the city of Los Angeles.”
Just a few hours later, the LA City Attorney slapped Lee with 4 misdemeanor counts: one in every of battery, one for possessing a lethal weapon with intent to assault, one other for unauthorized entry to the stage space throughout a efficiency and a fourth for fee of an act that delays the occasion or interferes with the performer.
Lee was initially arrested for assault with a lethal weapon after allegedly tackling Chappelle whereas carrying a wierd knife that appears like a handgun on the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night time.
The wannabe rapper was filmed knocking the well-known comic to the ground earlier than safety was capable of pounce on him. Lee was hospitalized briefly for accidents he sustained through the incident and was later booked into jail on $30,000 bail.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón’s resolution to not file a felony case towards Lee has already triggered some criticism, together with these from inside his workplace who’re supporting a recall motion towards the highest prosecutor.
“Anyone who arms themselves with a deadly weapon, in this case a knife, and violently attacks an innocent person, famous or not, should be charged accordingly,” Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami mentioned.
“With only a misdemeanor charge, the person could be released soon, with only a slap on the wrist. That fails to provide justice to the victim, accountability for this person’s actions and safety to the general public. These concepts, however, like public safety and justice, that most of us value, are concepts George Gascón can care less about.”
Steve Cooley, who was the Los Angeles County DA from 2000 to 2012, mentioned prosecutors needed to contemplate a number of components earlier than rejecting the case.
“If the knife was metal, it could’ve been the basis for a felony assault with a deadly weapon,” Cooley instructed The Post. “If it was just rubber, then you have a different kettle of fish. They also have to consider if the assailant had access to the weapon at the time he knocked Chappelle over. If he didn’t have access to it at the time, it’s probably not a felony, but a misdemeanor battery.”
Cooley mentioned prosecutors additionally might have thought of submitting a felony “assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily harm.”
“In this case, I saw that tackle and that was a very serious forcible assault … and he did have a weapon with him,” Cooley mentioned. “I could see a factual setting where he could be filed for a felony.”
