Dave Chappelle’s alleged attacker makes first court appearance
Suspect Isaiah Lee entered a not guilty plea on Friday
The man who allegedly attacked comedian Dave Chappelle during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl May 3 has been charged with attempted murder in an unrelated incident.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday that Isaiah Lee, 23, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing his roommate in December while Lee was living in a transitional housing apartment.
Lee pleaded not guilty to the charge Thursday and is scheduled to appear again before a judge June 2 in Department 32 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
Gascón said the publicity generated from Lee's alleged attack against Chappelle helped police solve the unrelated case. It is unknown if the weapon used in the alleged stabbing is the same one police say they found on Lee at the time of his alleged attack on the comedian.
Isaiah Lee, the man who allegedly attacked Dave Chappelle during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl May 3, has been charged with attempted murder in a separate incident. (Shutterstock)
"The publicity generated by the attack on Mr. Chappelle helped police solve this crime," said Gascón. "The incident that occurred at the Hollywood Bowl was misdemeanor conduct and rightfully referred to the City Attorney’s Office. Based on the nature and severity of the December attack, Mr. Lee is now facing felony charges, which my office will prosecute."
Lee, an aspiring rapper, is being held on $30,000 bail. A judge denied his request for a bail reduction May 10 in the Chappelle case.
L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer charged Lee with four misdemeanor counts of battery, possession of a weapon with intent to assault, unauthorized access to the stage area during a performance and commission of an act that delays the event or interferes with the performer.
Lee pleaded not guilty to the charges.
"My office takes protecting public safety extremely seriously, and we are going to vigorously prosecute this case," Feuer said in a video released after Gascón's office kicked the case down from the county to the city for prosecution.
An image provided by the LAPD shows a replica gun-knife combination Isaiah Lee possessed when he allegedly attacked comedian Dave Chappelle. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images; LAPD)
Gascón defended his office's decision to hand the Chappelle case to Feuer's office in a press conference May 10, telling reporters he hadn't actually reviewed the matter himself. A colleague did.
"You have to remember that this office looks at over 100,000 cases a year," Gascón told reporters. "I think anybody that thinks that I review every case in this office is not connected to reality. This is a very large county. I have very good people in our filing team, and they're well-trained, and she made the right decision."
Chappelle’s attorney said at the time the comedian was "upset" the office did not file felony charges.
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"It’s a travesty of justice that DA Gascón is refusing to prosecute this case as a felony," Chappelle’s attorney, Gabriel Colwell, told the New York Post. "The City Attorney, who filed the case, is doing his job, but DA Gascón should also do his job and charge this as a felony."
On Thursday, following the latest news about Lee, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami was critical of Gascón in comments to Fox News Digital:
"George Gascon’s policies are irresponsible and reckless and promote lawlessness. They are dangerous to the general public," Hatami said. "George said this perpetrator didn’t intend to hurt Chappelle. He said the attack on Chappelle was misdemeanor conduct. Now we find out that months earlier this same person attempted to kill someone with a knife.
"Clearly, George lacks real-life prosecutorial experience. He also cares more about press conferences than facts, the law and actual victims. And he clearly isn’t able to admit when he was wrong. However, I am thankful that LAPD worked so diligently to protect the public when the elected DA failed to do so, and I’m grateful that the victim in the new case will receive justice."
Fox News' Julius Young contributed to this report
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