After announcing his client would turn himself to NYPD on Thursday, an attorney for the 'American Horror Story: Roanoke' star says the plan is now up in the air after they saw a surveillance video which would prove Cuba's innocence.
- Jun 13, 2019
AceShowbiz - Cuba Gooding Jr. and his legal team have apparently had a change of heart about his plan to surrender to police in an alleged groping incident. The actor's attorney Mark J. Heller says that they're reconsidering whether the 51-year-old star would turn himself into NYPD on Thursday, June 13, now that they've seen surveillance video from the bar.
Mark claims the video shows "absolutely no criminality taking place on the part of my client." According to TMZ, Cuba's attorney doubts that police would seek to arrest Cuba if they'd seen the video. Mark says he's contacted the Manhattan D.A.'s Office Sex Crimes Unit to find out if they've seen the video, but has not gotten a return phone call.
Cuba is accused of grabbing a woman's breast at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge on 7th Avenue on Sunday night, June 9. The 30-year-old female claimed she had been mingling with the "Jerry Maguire" star at the bar when the incident took place. She then got into an argument with the Academy Award-winning actor about the incident, which required the intervention of club security guards. The woman called 911 hours later around 1 A.M. on Monday.
Met at the Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday night, Cuba said, "I trust the system, let the process speak for itself." He added, "There's a tape that shows what really happened." Recalling that he was taking pictures with a bunch of people, he insisted that there's "no" groping involved. Asked if he's guilty, he declared, "No, absolutely not."
On Wednesday, his lawyer Mark said his client has not yet met with police, but his legal team negotiated an arrangement for him to voluntarily turn himself in to be arrested and arraigned. Should he surrender to police, he might be booked for a misdemeanor charge of forcible touching. But now the plan is up in the air after they've seen the surveillance video.
