Photo: Getty Images
Jonathan Majors appeared in court virtually on Tuesday (May 9) weeks after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a 30-year-old woman.
During Tuesday's court appearance, Judge Rachel S. Pauley unveiled that Majors could be sentenced to up to a year in prison if found guilty of the third-degree assault charge he faces in connection with the alleged "domestic dispute" that occurred earlier this year, per Deadline.
Majors' next hearing was set for June 13, and he is required to attend in person.
“I’m required to inform you that, as you know, if you fail to appear in court on June 13, a warrant can be issued for your arrest within 48 hours and if you’re brought back on the warrant, the next judge can revoke and even set bail. I obviously don’t want that to happen,” the judge said Tuesday.
Pauley also reminded Majors that he must abide by the order of protection granted last month, which forbids the actor from having contact with the alleged victim.
Majors' case dates back to March 25 when the New York Police Department said officers responded to a 911 call of a "domestic dispute" between Majors and a 30-year-old woman in Manhattan. According to TMZ, it was Majors and his girlfriend who were arguing in a vehicle before officers arrived at the scene. The woman told officers that she had been assaulted, NYPD said, and she was taken to the hospital with minor head and neck injuries.
A criminal complaint stated Majors caused "bruising and substantial" pain after putting his hands on the woman's neck." He also allegedly hit her in the face which left "a laceration behind her ear," according to the complaint.
Majors' lawyer, Priya Chaudry remained adamant about her client's innocence following Tuesday's hearing.
“We have provided the District Attorney with irrefutable evidence that the woman is lying, including video proof showing nothing happened, especially not where she claimed,” Chaudry said. “We did this with the explicit promise from the DA that they would not “fix” their case and change it as we proved the woman is lying.”
“This is a witch hunt against Jonathan Majors, driven by baseless claims,” the lawyer added. “Instead of dismissing the allegations in the face of the woman’s clear lies, the DA has adjusted the charges to match the woman’s new lies. To be clear, there are no new charges against Mr. Majors.”
In a statement to Deadline, Chaudry went on to slam Tuesday's proceedings as a by-product of “the racial bias that permeates the criminal justice system.”
"Now, we have obtained even more video evidence of his innocence, but we are hesitant to share it, for fear the DA will tip the woman off to change her story again," Chaudry said per Deadline. "The criminal justice system is saturated with explicit and implicit bias. When Mr. Majors showed a white police officer the injuries the woman caused him, the white officer got in Mr. Majors’ face and taunted him, saying that if the officer were to slap Mr. Majors, the officer wouldn’t break his finger. None of the white officers present investigated the assault of Mr. Majors. Worse, the District Attorney has not indicated any intention to pursue charges against the woman, or even investigate the truth."
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