by
CNN
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The man accused of attacking comedian Dave Chappelle while performing at the Hollywood Bowl earlier this year pleaded no contest to two counts and was subsequently sentenced to 270 days in county jail Wednesday, authorities said.
Isaiah Lee pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of assault and trespassing during a live event, Ian Thompson, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, told CNN.
The defense filed a motion for judicial diversion, a program that, if completed successfully, would see the defendant’s case dismissed, Thompson said. Prosecutors opposed the motion and the judge ultimately denied it, he said.
CNN has reached out to Lee’s attorney for comment.
The weapon in the case, which was described by prosecutors as a replica pistol that included a knife blade, will be destroyed, Thompson said.
Lee is also facing attempted murder charges for an entirely different incident. He is accused of stabbing his roommate during a fight in a transitional housing apartment last December, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Lee pleaded not guilty when he appeared in court in May to face attempted murder charges.
“As a result of media reporting on the Chappelle case,” a statement from the prosecutor’s office states, “the victim recently identified Lee as the person who committed the assault she had previously reported to police.”
“Based on the nature and severity of the December attack, Mr. Lee now faces felony charges that my office will prosecute,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said in the statement.
Chappelle appeared at the Bowl on “Netflix is a Joke: The Festival” on May 3.
He “had finished his act and as he was leaving the stage, a male in the audience jumped onto the stage and knocked this celebrity to the ground,” Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Lizeth Lomeli previously told CNN.
Lee was arrested and taken to a hospital for medical treatment, Lomeli said.
A representative for Chappelle, Carla Sims, released a statement after the attack, saying: “As unfortunate and disturbing as the incident was, Chappelle continued with the show.”
“Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock helped calm the crowd with humor before Chappelle introduced the last musical guests of the night,” Sims said, adding that Chappelle was “fully cooperating” with the police investigation of the incident.
“We care deeply about the safety of creators and strongly defend the right of stand-up comedians to perform on stage without fear of violence,” a Netflix spokesperson told CNN in a statement after the incident.
