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Legendary British rocker Rod Stewart and his son are once again planning go to trial after being accused of pushing and shoving a security worker in a skirmish over being denied entrance to a private event at the famed Breakers Palm Beach resort nearly two years ago.
The case, which has has been delayed over COVID and failed settlement agreements, was supposed to be finalized Friday in court in West Palm Beach with an undisclosed plea deal. However Judge August Bonavita announced before the hearing that the state was requesting a jury trial.
Neither Stewart, 76, nor his son Sean Stewart, 41 attended the hearing Friday.
In January, lawyers announced that plea deal was made only to have that deal scuttled and a trial date set. Then in September just before trial, lawyers announced another deal was struck, effectively canceling the jury trial and setting Friday as the date for the deal to be announced. Now, that deal is off the table — at least for now — and another trial date has been set for Jan. 25, 2022.
At issue is an allegation that on Dec. 31, 2020, Stewart and his family went to the check-in table at the children’s area of the Breakers. When told by a security guard that there was a private event going on, things got loud.
The security worker, records say, placed his hand on Sean Stewart’s chest telling him to back up and give him some space after Sean Stewart got nose to nose with the worker. Sean Stewart then shoved the worker, records say.
After the worker regained his footing, records say Rod Stewart slugged the worker in the chest. Days later the Stewarts were issued notices to appear on simple battery charges. They each face up to a year in jail, probation or a $1,000 fine.
Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 including “Maggie May,” and “You wear it Well.”
Eileen Kelley can be reached at 772-925-9193 or ekelley@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @reporterkell.
