Wednesday 23 July 2008

Kid Rock Sentenced To Year Of Probation For Waffle House Brawl

Kanye West might not need anger management, but Kid Rock is going to get it, whether he wants it or not. Rock (born Robert Ritchie) was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $1,000 for his role in a fight at an Atlanta Waffle House last year. The sentence, handed down on Tuesday, also includes six hours of anger-management counseling and 80 hours of community service, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The October incident involved a predawn fight at the suburban restaurant after Rock's gig at Atlanta's Tabernacle. According to reports, a man named Harlen Akins, 39, got into a verbal altercation with a female friend who was accompanying Rock's crew. The argument escalated into a physical scuffle in the parking lot with Rock and five members of his entourage, during which Akins allegedly broke a window at the restaurant. Rock and his crew allegedly hopped on their tour bus and drove off, but cops stopped them and arrested Rock and the five other men on misdemeanor battery charges.

After Rock pleaded no contest to one count of simple battery in the case, four other counts of battery were dropped. Guitarist Jason E. Krause and group member James W. Murphy pleaded no contest and got similar sentences, while charges were dropped against the other three men. Rock's attorney said his client was "not terribly unhappy" with the sentence, though he still didn't think the brawl was his fault.

"I think my client is satisfied," attorney Darryl Cohen said. "He would have liked to have tried it. He came within a hairbreadth of going to trial."

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