Source: JC Olivera / Getty
It turns out that Mike Tyson doesn’t just dodge punches, but assault charges too.
The former heavyweight won’t face criminal charges after punching a man multiple times aboard a flight in San Francisco last month, after both parties asked for the moment to be laid to rest.
“The circumstances include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in the case,” District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe said. “We now deem this case to be closed.”
The story goes that Tyson was on his way to a Cannabis conference in April when an intoxicated passenger who sat behind him continuously annoyed him to the point that Tyson felt provoked enough to get up and allegedly punch him in the face several times.
Most of the account was corroborated by victim Melvin Townsend III’s lawyer Matt Morgan who said, “Our client is a big Mike Tyson fan. When Mike Tyson boarded the plane, he became overly excited. At first, their interaction was cordial.”
“At a certain point, Mr. Tyson clearly became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him in an excessive manner. This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting the flight attendant. Our client denies throwing a water bottle prior to being struck by Mr. Tyson.”
A witness told TMZ that the victim was initially cool and snapped photos with the former boxer but began to talk his ear off and threw a water bottle at him, despite being asked to chill. The video of the beatdown appears to show Tyson hailing a few punches at his fellow JetBlue passenger and the bloodied aftermath.
Tyson is clearly over the incident as he’s been seen in public living his best life and even smoking weed with Rick Ross and Ric Flair.
