Empire Star Bryshere Gray Arrested on Assault Charges —

Multiple sources are reporting that Bryshere Gray, who played Hakeem on the Fox hit show, Empire, was arrested after police allege that the 26-year-old actor assaulted and strangled his wife who eventually escaped their suburban Phoneix, Arizona home by running to a nearby gas station.

Check out his mugshot!

Here’s the FB post from Goodyear Police Department:

Goodyear Police Arrest “Empire” Actor, Bryshere Gray on Domestic Violence Charges

On Sunday night, July 12, 2020, at approximately 10:15pm, Goodyear Police responded to a 911 call that an adult female victim had been allegedly assaulted at her Goodyear home by her husband, who she identified as Bryshere Gray, an actor on the TV series “Empire.”

She was treated and released for her non life-threatening injuries. Goodyear Detectives and Victim’s Advocate continued to assist her after her discharge from the hospital.

Goodyear Police responded to the Goodyear residence located in the 13000 block of S. 176th Lane, Goodyear, in an effort to contact Gray, but he refused to come out and speak with officers. Goodyear SWAT and Crisis Negotiations were called out to assist. Just after 7:00 am, Gray was taken into custody without incident. He was arrested and booked into the Maricopa County Jail on domestic violence charges.

 

Chicago’s Civil Lawsuit Against Jussie Smollett Could Be Dismissed

Jussie Smollett‘s lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit against him seeking $130K.

Its no secret that actor Jussie Smollett best known for his leading role on the television series Empire, has been accused of making up an elaborate story of being the victim of an attack outside his apartment in Chicago by two men who allegedly had on MAGA caps. Two hunky Nigerian aspiring actors later admitted that they were the MAGA guys but claimed they were put up to the whole thing by Smollett himself.

Criminal charges stemming from the incident were dropped back in March after Cook County’s top prosecutor, Kim Foxx declined to prosecute the actor after Jussie forfeited his $10,000 bond and agreed to perform community service. However, the City of Chicago continued its public campaign to derail the actor, with everyone from the mayor to police chief holding press conferences shaming the actor for allegedly filing a false police report. (Even if true, he wouldn’t have been the first person of privilege to file a false police report, and he certainly won’t be the last.)

Then Mayor Rahm Emanuel called it a “whitewash of justice” and suggested Smollett received special treatment: “You cannot have, because of a person’s position, one set of rules apply to them and another set of rules apply to everybody else.”

Even US President Donald Trump threw in his 3 cents, tweeting: “FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!” ABC7 Chicago reported that the “FBI is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of criminal charges.” According to TMZ, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police filed a complaint with the Department of Justice.

The actor was later fired from Empire. To make matters worse, the city of Chicago sued the Jussie Smollett seeking reimbursement for the $130K they spent vigorously investigating the alleged hoax attack.  The Chicago Police Department claims to have logged 1,836 hours in overtime trying to resolve the case.

Lawyers for the actor are now asserting that while Smollett is not admitting he staged the incident,  the decision to spend so much time and resources investigating is squarely on law enforcement.

“My client from the beginning has maintained his innocence and disputed the city’s allegations,” said William J. Quinlan, of The Quinlan Law Firm, who filed the motion. He noted that “it’s going to be very difficult for the city to prevail in making a case my client should pay for overtime for a case ultimately dismissed by the state’s attorney.

“It’s ridiculous and a stretch to require him to do so.” “This lawsuit was only filed by the former mayor … out of frustration for the state’s attorney dismissing the charges,” said Quinlan.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall, who is hearing the case, said she will rule in October on whether the city could move forward with its lawsuit to redeem the costs.