WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Rod Stewart and his son have worked out details for a plea deal to settle misdemeanor battery charges stemming from an altercation with a security guard at a posh Florida hotel, a lawyer for the rock icon says.
Defense attorneys said Friday that Stewart and his son, Sean Stewart, would not be going to trial for the altercation at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach on New Year's Day 2020, the South Florida SunSentinel r eported. Stewart's lawyers didn't elaborate on the details.
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The Stewarts’ lawyer, Guy Fronstin of Boca Raton, has been negotiating a plea deal with Assistant State Attorney Zachary O’Neill, according to the SunSentinel.
“It sounds like everything’s been worked out,” said attorney Alexandra Antonacci, speaking on behalf of Fronstin, the newspaper reported. She said paperwork still has to be completed in the case.
Prosecutors had no immediate announcement in the case, but did say Saturday that plea deal negotiations are ongoing.
Stewart, 76 and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is best known for such hits as “Maggie May” and “Tonight's the Night.” The London-born singer was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2016.
Security guard Jessie Dixon told police then that the now 76-year-old Stewart and his family were at the check-in table for a private party that they weren’t authorized to attend.
Dixon said the group became loud and began causing a scene. Dixon told investigators he put his hand on the younger Stewart’s chest and told him to back up and make space, the report said.
That’s when Sean Stewart, the rock star’s 40-year-old son, got “nose to nose” with Dixon.
Sean Stewart then shoved Dixon backwards. Rod Stewart punched Dixon in his “left rib cage area” with a closed fist, a police report said.
The police report said Sean Stewart told investigators he became agitated when they were not able to attend the event “due to Dixon’s interaction with him and his family.”
Palm Beach officer Stephen Mancino said he viewed security footage at the hotel and determined that the Stewarts were the “primary aggressors.”
Two Breakers employees who were working the private event told police they saw Sean Stewart push Dixon and Rod Stewart punch the guard.
Dixon signed an affidavit saying that he wanted to press charges against the Stewarts.
An online court date is scheduled for March 26.
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This story was first published on Jan. 29, 2021. It was updated on Jan. 30, 2021, to correct that prosecutors and defense lawyers have not announced a plea deal. While defense lawyers say details for a plea detail have been worked out, prosecutors have made no announcement though they confirm plea deal negotiations are ongoing.