Man cited for attack on Flavor Flav at Vegas casino
LAS VEGAS >> A man who served prison time in Nevada for involuntary manslaughter is facing a misdemeanor battery charge in an attack involving entertainer Flavor Flav at a Las Vegas casino, authorities said today.
The 58-year-old rapper and reality television star, whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr., was treated at a hospital after the late Tuesday incident at the South Point, said his lawyer, Kristina Wildeveld.
Police described the injuries as minor. Wildeveld said Drayton is still in pain, but declined to describe his injuries.
Video aired by website TMZ shows a man punching Drayton, who was on his back amid slot machines on the casino floor.
The alleged attacker, Ugandi Howard, 44, of Las Vegas, was given a summons to appear March 6 in Las Vegas Justice Court, police Officer Laura Meltzer said.
Meltzer confirmed that Howard served prison time for his conviction in a 1993 involuntary manslaughter case in Las Vegas.
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Court records showed Howard was sentenced to 10 years. Prison records show he was released in July 2005. His defense attorney in that case, Steve Wolfson, is now Clark County district attorney. Wolfson said he didn’t recall Howard or details of his case.
An attempt to reach Howard by telephone was unsuccessful. It was not clear if he had a lawyer.
Wildeveld characterized the incident as unfortunate and said she doubted her client instigated it. The attorney said Drayton bowls regularly at the casino-hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard several miles south of the Strip.
“Flav is very open and gregarious,” Wildeveld said. “He has never caused ill will to his fans.”
Drayton, whose public persona includes wearing a big clock on a chain around his neck, was inducted with the hip hop group Public Enemy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. The group began in the New York area in 1986. Drayton now lives in Las Vegas.
He has faced several criminal cases in recent years, including a felony battery case involving the teenage son of Drayton’s longtime girlfriend that was reduced to a misdemeanor and closed in August 2014 with a finding that he completed domestic violence counseling.
Drayton paid fines after pleading guilty in 2016 to separate misdemeanor driving under the influence charges in Las Vegas and nearby Henderson. Both times, he acknowledged having marijuana residue in his system while behind the wheel.
In Nassau County, New York, Drayton was fined a little over $3,600 in 2015 for driving without a license when he was stopped while speeding in January 2014 to his mother’s funeral.