Two males accused of a brutal assault on the Dodgers stadium car parking zone following a 2022 Elton John live performance have been acquitted of battery and vandalism fees after a four-week jury trial.
A jury on Thursday discovered Chad Reeves, 44, and Reese Hopkin, 40, not responsible of battery inflicting severe harm to Jaime and Lillian Grenfell, a married couple of their 60s. Hopkin was additionally discovered not responsible of vandalism associated to a bystander’s mobile phone that was damaged throughout the incident.
The pair had been charged in 2023 after a video of the Nov. 17, 2022 incident went viral.
Prosecutors alleged that Hopkin and Reeves attacked the couple after a facet mirror on the couple’s Chevy Tahoe struck Reeves as they had been driving away from the primary of three sold-out performances.
Jaime Grenfell suffered severe accidents and was knocked unconscious by Hopkin. Prosecutors additionally alleged Hopkin grabbed the telephone of a person recording the incident and threw it to the bottom.
At trial, protection attorneys stated the video confirmed solely a portion of the incident. Reeves’ lawyer, Glen Jonas, argued the viral video was “edited,” and claimed that Jaime Grenfell “attacked’’ Reeves and a lady, however it was not proven within the video.
They argued that Reeves got here to the protection of Jessica Santi, after Grenfell initiated an altercation together with her. Of their narrative, the Grenfells’ SUV mirror struck Reeves and it led to yelling, after which Jaime Grenfell obtained out of the SUV and got here towards Santi and struck Reeves first, based on court docket information.
As to Hopkin, the attorneys argued that he solely grew to become concerned within the battle when his spouse, Lindsay Hopkin, was allegedly assaulted.
Jonas stated the proof he and attorneys Raffi Manuelian and Dilan Patel offered confirmed Hopkin knocked out Jaime Grenfell with a punch to the face when the alleged sufferer tried to reengage within the battle, Jonas stated.
“These two harmless males — Mr. Reeves and Mr. Hopkin — had been falsely prosecuted by a District Lawyer’s Workplace that refused to take a look at the case objectively,” Jonas stated, blaming former Dist. Atty. George Gascón for the fees.
“The larger image is that common folks can manipulate the complete public and the media right into a pitchfork mob mentality in opposition to harmless folks and the district lawyer’s workplace goes together with it,” Jonas stated.
Manuelian, who represented Hopkin, informed Metropolis Information Service after the decision it was a vindication for a household man. “It’s all about context,” he stated. “Let’s not choose folks primarily based on what we see within the social media.”
The Grenfells have sued Reeves, Hopkin and the Dodgers over the incident, alleging there was insufficient safety that night time — one thing the Dodgers deny. Within the lawsuit, Jaime Grenfell alleges that he and his spouse “suffered a head harm within the assault and different contusions and wounds and he or she witnessed her husband’s beating and his ensuing accidents.”
