On Wednesday of this week, Mike Tyson was at LAX airport and was being followed by paparazzi. He exchanged words with one of the photographers, Tony Echevarria. The two men got into an altercation and both claimed the other one hit them first. Eventually, both men got into a physical fight and Echevarria was punched in the face four times. Tyson claims he was defending his family who was being swarmed by the paparazzi. They were both arrested on suspicion of battery and want to press charges.
Battery can be either a misdemeanor or felony offense, depending on the severity of the incident and if weapons were used. Here, there were no weapons used, but Tyson, a former boxer, clearly had an advantage over the photographer. Often, photographers get too close to celebrities and their families or they say something that the celebrity finds offensive and the celebrity will get physical with the photographer. A similar incident to this one involved rapper Kanye West and another photographer at LAX airport. It is likely that Tyson and the photographer will have to take anger management classes as part of their punishment.
Whether you live in Newport Beach, Fullerton or San Clemente, if you are charged with assault or battery, call an experienced defense attorney right away to assist you.
If you want to know more about assault or battery, or your own charges, call Orange County criminal defense attorney William Weinberg @ 949.474.8008 in his Irvine office.