Jonathan Majors’ bid to overturn his assault and harassment conviction has been denied ahead of his sentencing next week.
On Wednesday, April 3, a New York judge denied the defense motions attempting to free Majors from the guilty verdict he received last December. The Creed III star is set to be sentenced on Monday, April 8, and faces up to one year in jail in connection with a domestic dispute he had with his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari in March 2023, Deadline reported.
“Jonathan feels disappointed by the outcome of the motion, yet he upholds respect for the process,” his lawyer, Priya Chaudry, told
ABC News.
Majors was found guilty of assaulting and harassing Jabbari following a high-profile two-week trial stemming from their fight in the back of an SUV. His convictions include one count of misdemeanor third-degree assault and one count of second-degree harassment. He was acquitted on two other counts of assault and aggravated harassment.
When overturning the bid, Judge Michael Gaffey said “There was a reasonable view of the evidence to support that Defendant acted recklessly” during the March 2023 dispute with Jabbari. Majors’ ex claims the fight started after she saw him receive a text message from another woman saying, “I wish I was kissing you.”
Jabbari testified that she grabbed his phone with her left hand and the actor proceeded to twist her right arm behind her back in an attempt to retrieve the device. She also accused the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star of striking her in the head and lacerating her ear, along with dislocating her finger when he twisted her arm.
“It just felt like he was twisting my arm and my hand and trying to make me feel pain,” she testified in court.
When considering the evidence brought forth in court, Gaffey said reckless assault was an “alternate theory” to the original charge of intentional assault.
“Thus, the jury reasonably could have concluded that Defendant recklessly caused physical injury to Ms. Jabbari during this ‘rapidly unfolding’ struggle over the phone,” the judge wrote.
The judge noted surveillance footage that showed Majors shoving Jabbari back inside of the for-hire SUV after exiting the vehicle.
“Such evidence clearly established that Defendant subjected Ms. Jabbari to physical contact, and the jury reasonably could have inferred his intent from the conduct and surrounding circumstances,” the judge wrote.
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