Rod to stand trial over US brawl after plea deal fails

A PlEA deal between rock icon Sir Rod Stewart and US prosecutors over a hotel brawl fell through yesterday.

Sir Rod, 76, and son Sean, 41, are again scheduled to stand trial on charges they battered a security guard during a New Year’s Eve party nearly two years ago.

They were not present when Judge August Bonavita announced the cancellation of a hearing in which a deal was expected to be finalised.

The pair are now scheduled to stand trial on misdemeanour battery charges

‘Asked him to back away’

on January 25. It is at least the second time a deal has fallen through in the case, which has also been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Stewarts face a maximum penalty of a year in jail, although such a lengthy term would be unlikely.

They got into an altercation at The Breakers Hotel, in Palm Beach, Miami, with security guard Jessie Dixon on December 31, 2019, shortly before midnight, police said previously.

They said the Stewarts were part of a group that tried to enter a private event in a children’s area at the posh hotel, but were not allowed.

The group, which included children, allegedly created a scene and would not leave.

Mr Dixon intervened and Sean Stewart confronted him, according to the police report. The security guard told police officers that he put the back of his right hand on Mr Stewart’s chest and asked him to back away. Security video showed Mr Stewart, who stars in US reality show Sons of Hollywood, shoving Mr Dixon and Sir Rod, pictured, punching him in the ribs. Sir Rod, who is originally from london and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, was knighted in 2016 by the Queen. He first relocated to the US from the UK in 1975 for tax reasons.

But in April last year, the singer and his wife, Penny lancaster, 50, and their sons, Alastair, 15, and Aiden, ten, were spotted outside their Essex home taking part in the weekly NHS clap for carers.

Their move back to the UK was said to be linked to Miss lancaster’s decision to train as a special constable with City of london Police after appearing on Channel 4’s Famous And Fighting Crime.

Mr Stewart is one of Sir Rod’s two children with his first wife, the US actress Alana Stewart.

Sir Rod was given the allclear in July after his prostate cancer was diagnosed during its early stages in 2017.

Neither prosecutors nor defence attorney Guy Fronstin responded to calls and emails seeking comment.