Former U.S. boxing champion Mike Tyson will not stand trial for hitting and chasing an allegedly intoxicated passenger on a plane last month, U.S. media reported, citing the California Attorney General involved in the incident. .
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaff explained that the decision was “based on the circumstances” of what happened, as video footage and testimony showed, particularly on the “behavior of the victim.”
The accident occurred on April 20 before the departure of a JetBlue flight from San Francisco to Florida. The 55-year-old former boxer punched a passenger several times minutes after boarding the plane.
Attorney General Steve Wagstaff explained to the Los Angeles Times that the 36-year-old man appeared drunk and brazenly yelled at passengers boarding the plane. According to some reports, a plastic water bottle was thrown at Mike Tyson, who was sitting opposite this passenger.
The public prosecutor considered that “this case is not within the jurisdiction of the criminal courts”, adding that “both parties may, if they wish, apply to the civil court, regardless of the decision to dismiss the criminal case.”
In a statement, the Attorney General indicated that neither party, neither the victim nor Mike Tyson, had indicated their desire to prosecute.
The former champion was removed from the plane after the accident.
Brooklyn-born Mike Tyson is one of the most prominent names in boxing history. At the age of 20 years and 4 months, he was the youngest heavyweight champion of the world and was admired for his strength and resilience.
One of Tyson’s most notable accomplishments was winning 37 straight games in his early days, but there were setbacks in his career, including a scandal he provoked by biting rival Evander Holyfield on the ear after a match between the two in 1997. .
In 1992, he was convicted of rape and spent almost three years in prison, and in 2007 he confessed to cocaine addiction.
