Country Star Could Face 6 Years in Prison After Getting Slapped with Felony Charges, According to Legal Expert
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
Country star Morgan Wallen could have more trouble on his hands than he might have thought in the wake of his arrest early this month on a handful of felony charges after an incident at a Nashville bar.
On April 7, the “Wasted On You” singer was arrested and charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and a single count of disorderly conduct after police accused him of throwing a chair off the roof of the bar in Nashville’s downtown district, TMZ reported at the time.
#UPDATE: Wallen’s mugshot has been released. https://t.co/fdKj2SPoMx
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 8, 2024
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department claimed that Wallen was on the roof of the Chief’s Bar when he allegedly threw the chair down six stories onto the street below.
The department also alleged that several police officers were standing nearby when the chair crashed to the ground.
After viewing surveillance video of the rooftop, officers arrested Wallen.
NEW: Country music star Morgan Wallen has been arrested in Nashville, Tennessee.
According to police, Wallen threw a chair off of the rooftop of Eric Church’s ‘Chief’s’ bar on Broadway.
Police were reportedly standing outside of the bar when a chair came flying by, smashing… pic.twitter.com/M2ffBpDA4f
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 8, 2024
The country singer posted a bond in the amount of $15,250 and was released.
But Rither Alabre, a former New York prosecutor and attorney, said that the charges are no laughing matter.
“The felony charges are the most serious ones and could land Wallen in jail for up to six years if he is prosecuted and convicted of those charges,” Alabre told Fox News. “The reckless endangerment counts could have been charged as misdemeanors, which would have made them less serious and exposed Wallen to a maximum of up to 11 months and 29 days in jail.”
The attorney, added, “However, a reckless endangerment count can be charged as a class E felony if the alleged act was committed with a deadly weapon.”
Because the chair “landed close to police officers and other members of the public,” the piece of furniture “was a deadly weapon, and that elevated the charge to an E felony charge,” Alabre said.
That is a serious charge, Alabre added.
“For the Class E felony charges of reckless endangerment, Wallen is facing not less than one year nor more than six years in prison,” Alabre told Fox. “It appears unlikely that the charges would be completely dismissed against Wallen because, according to some reports, the police reviewed video showing Wallen ‘lunging and throwing an object over the roof,’ and some witnesses claimed that they saw him throwing the chair.”
Alabre said that Wallen’s lawyer will have to try and convince prosecutors to go for a lesser charge, so that he won’t face such automatic severe penalties. His lawyer should “try to resolve this matter with a plea to a lesser charge, either a misdemeanor or even possibly a lower charge where he would face little to no jail time.”
Wallen has had a rough few years. In 2021 he was in hot water for using the “n-word” in a video with his neighbor.
But despite putting a temporary halt to his music career, he came back strong in 2022, achieving a number of top hits and saw his album mounting the charts.
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