WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida judge canceled the trial for rock ‘n’ roll legend Rod Stewart and his adult son and instead scheduled a hearing next month to hammer out a plea deal that would resolve charges stemming from a New Year’s Eve altercation in 2019.
According to court records, Palm Beach County Judge August Bonivita canceled Tuesday’s hearing and set an Oct 22 appearance in absentia, according to The Associated Press. The ruling means Stewart, 76, and his son, Sean Stewart, 41, will not have to appear in person.
According to prosecutors, Rod Stewart punched a security guard who was working a private event at The Breakers in Palm Beach on Dec. 31, 2019, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Rod Stewart, whose raspy voice has produced 16 Top-10 hits in the U.S. and four No. 1 singles, was knighted by William, the Duke of Cambridge, at Buckingham Palace, in 2016, according to the BBC.
>> Rod Stewart reaches plea deal stemming from incident at Palm Beach resort
Rod Stewart was charged with simple battery, along with his son, Sean Stewart, WPEC reported.
The case has taken a long time to resolve because of the COVID-19 pandemic and settlement negotiations, according to the AP.
>> Rod Stewart involved in New Year’s Eve fight at Palm Beach resort, police say
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in January 2020 by the Palm Beach Police Department, Rod Stewart punched Jessie Dixon, 34, who was overseeing the event in the children’s area of the hotel, WPBF reported. Police said Dixon saw a group of people trying to enter the event who were unauthorized to do so, the television station reported.
The group became loud and unruly, police said. According to the police report, Sean Stewart, 40, the son of the singer from his ex-wife, Alana Stewart, got “nose-to-nose” with Dixon and eventually shoved him, WPEC reported.
Rod Stewart, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1994 and as a member of the Small Faces in 2012, told police that Dixon became argumentative and that the family got “agitated,” WPTV reported.
The singer “apologized for his behavior in the incident,” Officer Stephen Mancino wrote in the arrest report, the television station reported.
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