J.R. turns himself in for allegedly tossing fan’s phone
The Cavaliers’ J.R. Smith turned himself in to the NYPD on Friday morning to face allegations he chucked a fan’s cellphone into a construction site outside a popular Chelsea nightspot last month.
The former Knick strolled into the 10th Precinct with his lawyer, Alex Spiro, to answer questions about the confrontation outside The Park restaurant on 10th Avenue, sources said.
Cops issued a desk-appearance ticket, and Smith, 32, will have to return to Manhattan Criminal Court later this year to face misdemeanor charges.
“This is nonsense, and we’re not going to respond to nonsense,” Spiro said of the allegations.
On July 26, a fan called cops on the hotheaded point guard for allegedly snatching his cellphone and tossing it into a construction zone after the young man tried to snap a picture of him.
The 20-year-old Pennsylvanian used another person’s phone to contact police and file a criminal mischief complaint against Smith, sources said.
A pal of the alleged victim, who appeared to have witnessed the altercation, described it on Twitter hours later.
“Still cant believe JR Smith launched my boy’s phone to Jersey,” tweeted Massimo Cusumano. “…my boy pulls out his phone, takes a snap, and JR comes over and launches that s--t like a hail mary.”
It isn’t the first time Smith has been accused of losing his temper with a fan over a photo. In 2015, at a pizza shop on the same block as The Park, a 19-year-old claimed the baller choked him.
Smith allegedly refused to pose for a picture with the teen, who then taunted him about being traded from the Knicks to the Cavaliers.
After an investigation into the incident, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said the evidence didn’t support criminal charges.