Report: Kings' Matt Barnes Expected To Turn Self In, Face Charges Over Manhattan Nightclub Brawl
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Sacramento Kings forward Matt Barnes is reportedly expected to turn himself in to New York police in connection with a nightclub brawl in Chelsea last month.
According to the New York Daily News, Barnes faces misdemeanor charges for allegedly assaulting a woman Dec. 5 at Avenue Nightclub on 10th Avenue.
The melee began when Barnes got into an argument with a woman at the club and began choking her, said two witnesses who were injured in the fracas. Jasmine Besiso, 26, and Myrone Powell, 35, claim they were innocent bystanders who got caught up in the brawl, which also allegedly included the Kings' DeMarcus Cousins and other patrons. The Kings were in town to play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Powell said Cousins punched him in the head and that Barnes and other members of his entourage then began beating him. A photo shows Powell with two swollen eyes.
Police told the Daily News that only Barnes is being charged. The 14-year NBA veteran is expected to travel to New York soon, possibly as early as next week, the newspaper reported.
Barnes' lawyer, Alex Spiro, declined to comment to the Daily News.
Shortly after the incident, Barnes, 36, took to Instagram to defend himself.
"There's always two sides to a story.. The side the media consistently tries to paint of me…. And what actually happened! Don't believe everything you read," he wrote in a post, which has since been deleted.
A representative of Barnes' told TMZ.com last month that the player accidentally "butt bumped" a woman inside the club and that he merely defended himself after she and people she was with attacked him.
The NBA suspended Barnes for two games last season after he reportedly got into a fight and threatened former Knicks coach Derek Fisher in October 2015. The league said that incident happened after Fisher attended a gathering at the home of Barnes' estranged wife, Gloria Govan.
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